Northern men open season with a split at Canadian tournament
By Ryan Divish/Havre Daily News Sports Editor/rdivish@havredailynews.com
One thing is for certain: The Montana State University-Northern men's basketball
team won't go undefeated and it won't go winless this season.
The Lights struggled offensively in their first game of the season with a 74-52
loss to the
Northern head coach
"We got down early and it was tough to dig ourselves out of it," Huse
said. "It was our first game and it was their eighth and it showed early
on. They really were clicking right away."
The Lights were far from clicking, combining missed shots and turnovers - a bad
combination.
"We made a run right before halftime to cut it to 11," Huse said.
"But our shooting didn't get any better in the second half."
Indeed, Northern shot an icy 25 percent from
the field and 17 percent from three-point range in the second half, as
"It took us awhile to start looking like a college basketball team, but by
then it was too late," Huse said. "You have to give them credit, they have a good team with some quality
players."
Andrew Spagrud led
"Spagrud is tough," Huse said. "He's about 6-9 and really can
score inside. He's a Division I-type player. He caused us some problems."
Northern was led by Reid Stovall's 11 points and six rebounds. Rodrick Carter
added nine points for the Lights.
"Reid was our only really consistent player," Huse said.
It was a disappointing start to the season, but things got a little better on
Saturday night with the win over
Northern played much better from the opening tip, leading by as many as 19
points in the first half.
"We played much better on Saturday," Huse said. "We took better
care of the ball and looked a little more comfortable on offense."
The Lights cut their turnovers from 22 to 9 in the second game and executed
better, particularly in the first half, shooting 46 percent from the field.
"We kind of went into a lull on offense for a while in the second half and
let them back into the game," Huse said. "We were better offensively
in the second game, but we still weren't scoring the ball like we wanted
to."
Jordan Matthews led the Lights with a game-high 21 points, including three
three-pointers. Antonio Jordan chipped in 10 points and grabbed four rebounds.
"It was a real team effort," Huse said. "Everybody contributed
in some way to the victory."
While he was disappointed with the lack of offensive punch, Huse was pleased
with his team's defense.
"It's just like football coaches say, you see the defense ahead of the
offense early in the season," he said. "The way it's progressing, I
really think that our team defense will be the best it has ever been."
More than anything, Huse was impressed with his team's attitude following the
loss and the adjustments it made on Saturday.
"They played with a real focus and energy," he said. "We
responded really well. That was the best sign we saw all weekend. Friday night
didn't sit well with them and they made a concerted effort to work harder and
play better."
Northern will return to action on Nov. 3 in its first home game of the season
against the
U of SASKATCHEWAN 74, MSU-NORTHERN 52
MSU-NORTHERN (0-1)
Reid Stovall 4-12 3-3 11; Rodrick Carter 3-6 3-5 9; Marcus Wilson 4-7 0-0 8;
Jordan Matthews 2-7 0-0 5; Cory Brothers 1-4 1-1 4; Tim Hutchins 1-3 2-2 4;
Antonio Jordan 1-10 2-2 4; Leo Bullchild 2-4 0-0 4; Pathe Yatera 1-2 0-0 2;
Landen Grant 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 19-56 12-15 52.
U of SASKATCHEWAN (6-3)
Sam Lamontagne 6-7 4-4 22; Andrew Spagrud 6-12 9-12 21; Matt Greenberg 4-9 0-0
8; Rob Lovelace 3-5 0-0 7; Kyle Grant 1-4 3-4 6; Levi Vann 2-8 2-2 6; Mike
Linklater 2-4 0-0 4; Jordan Harbridge 0-1 0-0 0; Dustin Fruson 0-2 0-0 0; Ryan
Lynchuk 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-53 18-24 74.
Halftime score:
MSU-NORTHERN 70, WINDSOR UNIVERSITY 67
MSU-NORTHERN (1-1)
Jordan Matthews 4-10 10-12 21; Antonio Jordan 3-7 3-4 10; Rodrick Carter 3-6
1-2 7; Marcus Wilson 3-4 0-0 6; Cory Brothers 2-4 1-2 6; Tim Hutchins 2-3 1-1
5; Reid Stovall 1-4 2-4 4; Cody Gillespie 1-5 2-4 4; Landen Grant 1-3 1-2 4;
Leo Bullchild 1-4 0-0 2; Pathe Yatera 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-51
22-33 70.
WINDSOR (3-3)
Trevor Boose 6-17 3-3 17; Rich Allin 5-7 4-6 14; Justin Goggins 4-9 4-4 12;
Sadiki Robertson 3-6 0-0 7; Wesley Arthur 2-3 0-0 6; Ryan Steer 1-7 2-2 5;
Allen Mujacic 2-3 0-0 4; Mathew Burhart 1-2 0-0 2; Gregory Allin 0-1 0-0 0;
Christopher Shaw 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-56 13-15 67.
Halftime score: MSU-N 36, WIN 24. 3-point goals: MSU-N 6-18 (Matthews 3-6;
Brothers 1-2; Grant 1-1; Jordan 1-3; Stovall 0-1; Gillespie 0-2; Bullchild 0-2;
Carter 0-1), WIN 6-17 (Arthur 2-3; Boose 2-3; Robertson 1-3; Steer 1-4; Burhart
0-1; Allin 0-1; Goggins 0-1; Allin 0-1). Fouled out: Arthur.
Rebounds: MSU-Northern 33 (Marcus Wilson 4; Antonio Jordan 4), WIN 36 (Rich
Allin 12). Assists: MSU-N 8 (Rodrick Carter 2), WIN 7 (Ryan Steer 2; Trevor
Boose 2). Total fouls: MSU-N 14, WIN 21. A-200