MSU-Northern Surprises Warner Pacific
SALEM, Ore. – On the second day of the F & W Fence Co. Basketball Classic, at the C.E. Jeffers Sports Center on the campus of Corban College, the Lights of Montana State University – Northern defeated the Knights of Warner Pacific College, 82-79.
Sophomore Andrew Sellars led Montana State-Northern with a team-high 18 points. Adding to the team’s total were junior Clinton Shelton and senior Drew Petterson who had a pair of double-doubles contributing 16 points and 14 rebounds, and 14 points and 11 rebounds respectively.
The Knights, who are ranked 6th in the latest NAIA Division II coaches’ poll, were carried by senior Scott O’Gallagher who had a game-high 27 points on 7-for-17 shooting from the field including an amazing 11-for-12 from the free throw line. The 6-foot-2 guard was joined by fellow senior Josh Jackson who added 15 points to the team’s final score.
The Knights took the lead early on in the first half. However, MSU-Northern managed to chip away at the deficit and eventually took the lead going into the half, 40-36. The Lights were 18-for-39 (46.2%) in the first half including only 2-for-6 (33.3%) from the 3-point line.
Warner Pacific shot 13-for-31 (41.9%) in the first half, but only managed 2-for-12 (16.7%) from behind the arch.
The two teams battled back-and-forth through the remainder of the game exchanging the lead multiple times. Montana State-Northern continued their solid shooting with 14-for-29 (48.3%) from the field, but shot an awful 0-for-5 from the 3-point range. Poor free throw shooting in the final minute by the Lights helped Warner Pacific stay in the game, as the nationally-ranked Knights had a chance at the buzzer but senior Keegan Cook missed a 30-foot shot from the top of the key as the buzzer sounded.
The Knights cooled off, making only 13-for-33 (39.4%) in the second half, including 5-for-14 (35.7%) from behind the arch.
With the win, the Lights are crowned the unofficial champions of the 2007 F & W Fence Basketball Classic and improve to 10-3 overall. Meanwhile, Warner Pacific drops to 5-3 overall but remains unbeaten in conference play at 1-0.
Recap courtesy of Nathan Furumasu, Corban College Sports Information Intern