Lights try to stay atop Frontier standings at home
George Ferguson
Havre Daily News sports editor
gferguson@havredailynews.com
Montana State University-Northern men's basketball coach Shawn Huse is all
about taking things one game at a time, even one half at a time. And while it's
still early in the Frontier Conference season, even Huse can't deny how
important this weekend's games are to his program and to the rest of the
conference.
Northern (13-5, 2-0) will play host to
“We try to put the importance of each game strictly on that game and not look
ahead,” Huse said. “Especially with every team getting into our conference
tournament this year, your season isn't over until you're knocked out of that
tournament.
“But we know these are big games,” he added.
“We have two very good teams coming in here and it is always important to try
to defend your home court.”
Tonight's game with Rocky will be big, because if the Lights can get past the
Bears, and Carroll can take care of the University of Great Falls in Great
Falls tonight, that would set up an early- season showdown of undefeated teams in
Havre on Saturday night.
First things first, however, and Huse is not overlooking the Bears.
“They are a very good team with a strong inside game,” Huse said. “We are
really going to have to control the paint against them and rebound the ball
well if we want to have success.”
Rocky (8-8, 1-1) boasts one of the top post players in the Frontier Conference
in Devin Ukoski. The forward is averaging 14 points per game, and he is the
league's leading rebounder with nine per contest. The Bears are also getting
solid production from 6-0 junior Curtis Dunwoody and 6-3 sophomore Ryan
Gomendi, and their play shows that they are not just an inside team.
“I think the key to beating Rocky will be establishing an inside game and
playing good defense,” Huse said. “We did that last weekend and we were able to
play really well as a result.”
Northern opened its conference season with a pair of impressive road wins at
UM-Western and Montana Tech. In both games the Lights played sound defense and
were efficient and patient on offense.
When the No. 2-ranked Carroll College Fighting Saints come to town on Saturday
night, the defense and efficiency on offense will have to be raised to a whole
other level.
The Saints (2-0, 15-1) picked up right where they left off last season when
they made it all the way to the NAIA Final Four. They were a unanimous pick to
win the league this year, and they are showing no signs of relinquishing their
hold on the conference anytime soon.
“We understand just how good Carroll is,” Huse said. “But we also feel like
we're a much better team than we were at this point last year, and we believe
we match up well with them.”
The Saints returned almost their entire roster from last season, including
all-conference selections Jeff Hays and Sinan Guler, as well as key scorers
like Dallas Leslie and Travis Williams. So far this season, Hays is leading the
league in a myriad of offensive categories, and is third in scoring at 16.7
points per game. Williams is the league's leading 3-point shooter and is averaging
close to 14 points per game. Guler is one of the top assist men and is close to
the league lead in steals.
If Northern is going to find success against the high-octane Saints, they are
going to have to get big scoring from Jordan Matthews (16.0 ppg), Cory Brothers
(12.7 ppg) and Ronnie Simpson (10.0 ppg).
Something else the Lights will have to have is mental focus and strength,
because Huse has no doubt that Carroll will be more than composed, even with an
expected capacity crowd on hand Saturday night.
“That is one of the things that makes Carroll so tough and so impressive,” Huse
said. “They have been in a lot of big games the last few years and they have
been in some high-pressure situations.
“So we don't expect them to get rattled or shaken and we know they are going to
come up here and play well,” he added. “But our guys were very composed and
focused last weekend on the road. If they can maintain and we shoot the ball
well, I think we will give them a very tough game.”
Tonight's game between MSU-N and RMC will tip off at 8 at the MSU-Northern
Fieldhouse. Saturday night's game also begins at 8 p.m.