The Montana State University-Northern Lights men's basketball team earned a hard-fought overtime victory over Life Pacific before dropping a narrow one-point decision to La Sierra University to split its two-game California road trip.
Northern opened the trip with a 75-73 overtime victory over Life Pacific on November 7 before falling 70-69 to La Sierra on November 8.
The Lights showed their ability to battle through adversity throughout the weekend, putting together a comeback performance in the opener and competing until the final seconds in the second contest.
Northern 75, Life Pacific 73 (OT)
The Lights opened the road trip with an exciting overtime victory over Life Pacific, overcoming a 10-point halftime deficit to secure the 75-73 win.
Life Pacific held a 36-26 advantage at the break, but Northern responded with an improved offensive performance in the second half. The Lights outscored Life Pacific 35-25 after halftime to send the game into overtime tied at 61.
Northern carried its momentum into the extra period, shooting 75 percent from the field and converting seven of eight free throws to secure the two-point victory.
Luke Holecek led the Lights with an outstanding 28-point performance, shooting 11-of-20 from the field and connecting on four three-pointers.
Austin Ramos added 15 points, including three shots from beyond the arc, while
Claysen Delp contributed 11 points.
Cinque Maxwell also reached double figures with 10 points, six rebounds and two assists.
Tracen Jilot added six points, four rebounds and three assists.
The Lights finished the contest shooting 51 percent from the field, including 44 percent from three-point range, while converting 14 of 16 free throws.
La Sierra 70, Northern 69
Northern continued its competitive play Sunday evening against La Sierra University, but a late rally came up just short in a 70-69 loss.
The Lights came out strong offensively, building a 43-37 halftime advantage. Northern shot 56 percent from the field in the opening half and knocked down seven three-pointers to take control early.
La Sierra responded after the break, outscoring Northern 33-26 in the second half to complete the comeback and claim the one-point victory.
Austin Ramos paced Northern with 21 points, shooting 7-of-14 from the field and connecting on five three-pointers. Holecek added 15 points and five rebounds, giving the Lights two players in double figures.
Jonny Gasologa provided a spark off the bench with 12 points, while
Tracen Jilot contributed 10 points and five rebounds. Maxwell added six points and six rebounds.
Northern finished the game shooting 44.6 percent from the field and 41.7 percent from three-point range. The Lights also received 24 points from their bench.
Looking Ahead
The Lights return home to the Armory Gymnasium on November 13 to host Southern Oregon University. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.
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