The MSU-Northern Lights basketball team came off of a dominant performance over Concordia University of Edmonton on Saturday night. The team will ride that momentum into Missoula when they take on the Montana Grizzlies in an exhibition.
Lights coach Shawn Huse told New Media Broadcasters why the team scheduled this game as part of their early season tour.
“You’ve got 30 games to fill, right? 28 are counters and the other two can be exhibitions (or) scrimmage(s),” Huse said.
“That’s why guys are going places,” Huse continued. “Everyone out there has 30 and gives you the best shot at winning 20 and being on the map when it comes down to at-large bids.”
There have been three NAIA teams that have upset NCAA Division I opponents this season, including most recently Frontier Conference’s Rocky Mountain College beating Montana State on Nov. 30. Coach Huse said what the reaction was when he asked his team if they wanted to play UM.
“Unequivocally, we want to go play the big boys,” Huse said. “I think it’s fun for everyone to take their shot a Division I team when they play at the NAIA level.”
“We’ll give them our best shot,” Huse continued. “(We’ll) hopefully learn some stuff from it. Obviously, there’s going to be challenges and there’s bound to be some learning lessons from that game.”
The Lights’ exhibition with Montana will take place at 7pm on Tuesday night.
