Monday, Nov. 12
Skylights storm back at DSU, Lights fall
George Ferguson
Havre Daily News sports editor
gferguson@havredailynews.com
Flip flopping the schedule, playing a team just one week removed from playing it in Havre is what faced the Montana State University-Northern men’s and women’s basketball teams this weekend.
On Sunday
night in
The Skylights came back from an 11-point halftime deficit to knock off the Blue Hawks 73-70.
MSU-N head coach Chris Mouat was more than happy with how his team was able to earn a hard-fought road win.
“I am
really happy for the kids right now and really proud of them,” Mouat said from
The start of games hasn’t been MSU-N’s strong point early in the 2006-2007 season. And DSU exploited that fact on Sunday night. The Blue Hawks cruised early on, making eight 3-pointers in the first half to open up a double-digit lead against the Skylights, who beat the Blue Hawks eight days ago in Havre.
But in the second half, MSU-N picked up the pace defensively, allowing the Blue Hawks just nine made field goals in the final 20 minutes, and outscoring them, 39-25 down the stretch.
The Skylights shot 52 percent from the floor in the second half opposed to just 42 percent in the first 20 minutes. MSU-N also made five second-half threes.
Chelsie Searle led five Skylights in double figures with a game-high 15 points, including three treys. Jena Heggem had 12 points, while Ashley Trulock came off the bench to add 11 points. Michele VanDyke and DeLayne Johnston added 10 points apiece.
The
Skylights improved to 5-2 on the season heading into tonight’s game at
Meanwhile, the MSU-N Lights also found themselves in a comeback situation Sunday night. But unlike the Skylights, the Lights couldn’t come all the way back, falling to the Blue Hawks 85-80.
Northern trailed DSU by as many as 16 points in the first half and were down 42-33 at halftime. The deficit would have been worse if not for Delvaughn Tinned’s half-court 3-pointer at the buzzer to cut DSU’s lead to nine points.
In the second half, the Lights continued to cut into DSU’s lead, but could not fully overtake the Blue Hawks. Northern blew out DSU in Havre last Friday night.
Despite making seven second-half threes, the Lights shot a disappointing 42 percent from the field for the game. DSU struggled offensively in the second half, but the Blue Hawks’ defense kept MSU-N from completing its comeback bid. Northern was also hampered by foul trouble. DSU shot 44 free throws and made an astounding 35. The Lights only shot 19 free throws on the night.
Tinned led the Lights with 22 points and Erv Simms chipped in with 19. Cory Brothers scored 15 points and Ronnie Simpson added 11. The Blue Hawks got a game-high 28 points from Ervin Belton, as well as 25 points from Donny English.
Northern
will be back on the road tonight at
Skylights 73, Blue Hawks 70
MSU-N — Chelsie Searle 5-7 2-4 15, Becky
Sorenson 2-6 0-1 5, DeLayne Johnston 3-7 4-6 10,
DSU — Dana Johnson 2-6 2-2 8, Brittany Mesa 5-7 0-0 13, LaDonna Downs 3-9 3-7 9, Hennessy Rodriguez 4-9 4-5 12, Ashley Bakich 3-11 1-3 7, Ashlee Viveros 0-1 1-2 1, Sarah Gross 3-5 0-0 9, Elise Doughton 3-4 0-0 6, Andrea Staley 1-6 0-1 3. Totals: 25-60 10-18 70.
Halftime: DSU 45, MSU-N 34. 3-pointers: MSU-N 8-17 (Searle
3, Sorenson 1, Heggem 2, Hovey 2), DSU 10-22 (Johnson 2, Mesa 3, Bakich 1,
Gross 3, Staley 1). Rebounds: MSU-N 36 (
Blue Hawks 85, Lights 80
MSU-N — Erv Simms 7-10 5-7 19, Drew Pettersen 2-7 0-1 5, Delvaughn Tinned 8-20 3-4 22, Cory Brothers 6-10 0-0 15, Brian Erickson 2-4 0-2 4, Durwin Williams 1-2 0-0 2, Ronnie Simpson 4-12 0-1 11. Totals: 31-73 8-15 80.
DSU — Donny English 7-14 11-12 25, Nigel
Sims 0-1 2-2 2, Ervin Belton 7-14 14-17 28, Roger Russaw 5-7 0-1 12,
Halftime: DSU 43, MSU-N 33. 3-pointers: MSU-N 10-22 (Pettersen 1, Tinned 3, Brothers 3, Simpson 3), DSU 2-4 (Russaw 2). Rebounds MSU-N 34 (Williams 7), DSU 40 (Belton 9). Fouls: MSU-N 34, DSU 19. Fouled out: Pettersen, Williams.