Chinook, Harlem standouts thriving with MSU-N hoops

In his fourth season at Montana State University-Northern, former Chinook basketball standout Oskar Pula is really starting to come into his own.

Pula, a former Class C All-State star for the Sugarbeeters, is averaging nearly 14 minutes per game for Northern head coach Shawn Huse, and the Lights, who are 7-5 this season.

As an important player on Northern's talented roster, Pula has been a consistent contributor, while also playing excellent defense. Pula scored a career-high nine points in a Dec. 7 game against Bismark State, while he grabbed a career-high six rebounds in a Dec. 17 win over Northwest Poly Tech.

Fellow Chinook standout Jackson Nordboe is also in his second season with the Lights, and has seen action in one game thus far.

Of course, the MSU-Northern women's basketball team also features a bevy of former local standouts including seniors Taya Trottier and L'Tia Lawrence from Harlem.

In her final season at Northern, Lawrence is averaging just under seven points per game, and has a season-high of 12 points for the Skylights, of head coach Chris Mouat. Meanwhile, Trottier is averaging just over 10 points per game, as well as 4.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists per night, as the Skylights are 7-3 this season and 5-2 in the Frontier Conference.

Both Northern hoops teams also have several other area players on their rosters. Former Big Sandy star Eva Yaedon is a freshman on the Northern women's team, while former Box Elder star Tracen Jilot is a freshman averaging nearly 12 points per game for the Lights.