MSU Northern basketball braved the cold for a trip to take on the Rocky Mountain College Battlin’ Bears in Billings on Saturday.
The Skylights & Lady Bears started off the session. Northern came out strong to lead 27-14 at the end of the first quarter. Rocky managed to battle back, to hold a 38-37 edge at halftime. The Battlin’ Bears had a 6 point advantage in third quarter scoring, moving up the lead to 59-52. The Skylights got tough for the final quarter, and a last moment layup by Shyann Krass gave Northern a 76-75 victory.
With Savannah Toms fouling out of the contest, Riley Kehr took the reins to lead all scorers at 27 points. Also in double figures, Taya Trottier and Shyann Krass both dropped in 13, Rachel Van Blaricom added 11.
The Lights & Battlin’ Bears then took to the court, with Northern dominating the first half to a 42-25 lead. About 14 minutes into the second half, Rocky scrapped back to tie for the first of seven times in the contest. Both teams showed 77 on the scoreboard as the half closed, moving the game into overtime. Northern kept their wits about them, and outscored Rocky in the extra period 10 to 7, garnering an 87-84 win.
Three Lights made their way into double digits in the contest, headed up by Zackry Martinez with 25 points. Dae’Kwon Watson put up 22 points and Jacob Randall finished with 10.
MSUN will be back in action at the Armory Gym on Thursday, January 18, when they host the Argonauts of the University of Providence.
