The MSU-Northern Skylights basketball team is on their first losing streak of the season, having dropped games in Great Falls to Stephens College and Vanguard University.
Skylights coach Chris Mouat told New Media Broadcasters that the first game against Stephens will stick in the team’s mind for quite some time because of execution, but he was proud of the effort shown in both contests.
“There were positives in both games,” Mouat said. “I think in the first game (against Stephens), we were sloppy. We didn’t handle our business very well with the basketball. I think you can learn from every game you’re in.”
“The first one sticks with me and our players probably a bit worse than the second one because in the second game with Vanguard, we came out and went toe-to-toe with them for the first 20 minutes,” Mouat continued. “We shot the ball extremely well and ran out stuff. I thought our mental effort with only a one-hour prep on Vanguard was pretty good.”
The team will be able to turn the page quite quickly because of the next games on the schedule. Northern will be traveling all day on Wednesday to end up in Honolulu, Hawaii for games over Thanksgiving Weekend. This is the first time since Mouat’s first year in 2004-2005 that the Skylights will play games in Hawaii. He shares how this came to be.
“I just thought it was a good time with a lot of returners who have worked extremely hard not only in our program, but also in our community for Northern (and) for different organizations that they go out and raise money for,” Mouat said. “They just do a lot and so I thought our kids deserved a pat on the back for some of the effort that they put in and what better way to thank them than go to Hawaii.”
The reality is that the student-athletes worked for this moment. Mouat explains the values of hard work off the court and how Northern overall does a great job at promoting these skills.
“They have had to sacrifice (and) raise a lot of money,” Mouat said. “Like so many athletes at Northern, these kids are not just student-athletes. They are active in our community (and) active in their home communities.”
“They just do a lot and they’re very visible,” Mouat continued. “You look around events in town and it’s likely there are going to be some Northern kids there and helping those things go.”
Stay tuned later this week for a preview story on Northern’s two opponents in Hawaii.
