GRAND FORKS, N.D.—The UND men’s basketball team dug itself a big hole, climbed out of it and ultimately fell in dramatic fashion, as South Dakota senior guard Nate Tibbetts heaved up a three-point basket that banked in with 3.5 seconds to play in overtime to beat the Sioux, 71-68.
The loss ended UND’s 12-game winning streak and dropped the Sioux into second place in the NCC with a 5-1 record, as South Dakota moved into first place in the league with a 6-1 mark. UND is 12-2 overall.
Tibbetts’ heroics capped off a game that first seemed destined to be a South Dakota blowout win and later appeared likely to be a spectacular UND comeback victory.
After trailing by as many as 18 points early in the second half (on two occasions), the Sioux began mounting a comeback but still trailed by 14 points (54-40) with 10:08 to play. UND then went on a 12-2 run to close to within four points (56-52) with 4:17 left.
North Dakota capped its comeback when Sioux guard Jeff Brandt (Fr., Minot, N.D.) drained a three-pointer from 25 feet with 39 seconds to play in regulation to tie the score, 61-61, sending the Hyslop Center crowd of 3,785 into a frenzy.
The Sioux then had a chance to win in regulation when point guard Curtis Munlin (Sr., Mishawaka, Ind.) stole the ball from South Dakota’s Jimmie Foster with four seconds left, but Munlin was closely guarded and was not able to get a shot off after a frantic race down court.
In overtime, the Sioux looked like they were taking control when guard Nigel Jenkins (Jr., Chicago, Ill.) hit a three-point basket to give UND a 67-63 lead with 2:14 to play.
South Dakota answered 19 seconds later with a three-pointer by Eric Hickenbottom, and then the Coyotes regained the lead, 68-67, on a layup by Jimmie Foster with 40 seconds left. The Sioux tied it, 68-68, on a free throw by Kyle Behrens (Sr., Hayfield, Minn.) with 40 seconds to play, setting the stage for Tibbetts.
With the shot clock winding down to one second, Tibbetts, who was closely guarded on the right perimeter, let fly with a desperation shot that appeared to be errant as it left his hand. The shot clock buzzer went off as the shot was in the air, but the shot banked perfectly off the glass and in to give South Dakota a 71-68 lead with 3.5 seconds left. UND called a timeout and inbounded the ball to Munlin, who drove past halfcourt before launching a long three-point attempt that hit the rim and bounced off, ending the game.
The Sioux struggled in the first half, trailing 10-0, 14-2 and 19-4. UND trailed 24-9 with under four minutes to play in the first half and eventually trailed 32-16 at the half. The Sioux shot just 21.4 percent from the field (6-of-28) in the first half, including 1-of-13 three-pointers. South Dakota, meanwhile, shot 55 percent from the field (11-of-20) in the first half.
UND turned it around in the second half, shooting 50 percent from the field (12-of-24).
Brandt led all scorers with 21 points, 18 in the second half. Behrens added 14 points, and Jenkins and Tom Jacobson (Sr., Mayville, N.D.) each had 10 points. Paul Marshall scored 16 points to lead South Dakota, for which all five starters scored in double figures. Kudera had 12 points, and Tibbetts, Foster and Jason Barrow all had 11 points for the Coyotes.
Official Basketball Box Score -- GAME TOTALS -- FINAL STATISTICS
South Dakota vs North Dakota
1/12/01 8 p.m. at Grand Forks, N.D.
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VISITORS: South Dakota 12-2, 6-1
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
03 Paul Marshall....... * 6-9 4-6 0-1 0 1 1 1 16 0 0 0 3 43
04 Nate Tibbetts....... * 3-5 1-3 4-4 1 6 7 2 11 9 2 0 2 45
22 Jimmie Foster....... * 4-12 0-2 3-6 0 5 5 4 11 1 4 1 1 37
52 Jeremy Kudera....... * 5-8 2-3 0-0 1 5 6 5 12 0 1 0 0 24
54 Jason Barrow........ * 4-9 1-3 2-2 0 4 4 5 11 1 3 2 0 32
42 Eric Hickenbottom... 3-9 1-4 0-0 2 2 4 3 7 1 0 0 0 29
44 Travis James........ 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
50 Steve Anderson...... 1-2 1-2 0-0 0 3 3 2 3 0 1 0 0 14
TEAM................ 2 3 5
Totals.............. 26-54 10-23 9-13 6 29 35 22 71 12 11 3 6 225
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-20 55.0% 2nd Half: 11-26 42.3% OT: 4-8 50.0% Game: 48.1% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 4-8 50.0% 2nd Half: 4-11 36.4% OT: 2-4 50.0% Game: 43.5% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 6-6 100 % 2nd Half: 3-7 42.9% OT: 0-0 0.0% Game: 69.2% 2
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HOME TEAM: North Dakota 12-2, 5-1
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
05 Tom Jacobson........ * 4-10 1-8 1-1 1 4 5 2 10 2 1 0 0 44
12 Curtis Munlin....... * 1-8 0-2 4-4 2 4 6 2 6 5 2 0 5 44
30 Jeff Brandt......... * 6-15 6-15 3-3 0 3 3 2 21 3 2 0 0 41
44 Brandon Badding..... * 2-4 0-0 1-3 1 2 3 1 5 1 0 0 0 28
52 Kyle Behrens........ * 3-12 0-1 8-10 0 7 7 4 14 2 3 0 1 21
20 Jade Jahner......... 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2
32 Ryan Walker......... 0-1 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 12
34 Nigel Jenkins....... 4-6 1-1 1-1 0 1 1 1 10 0 0 0 0 18
40 Jerrid Sebesta...... 0-1 0-0 2-2 3 0 3 1 2 0 1 0 0 15
TEAM................ 3 3 6
Totals.............. 20-58 8-28 20-24 11 24 35 15 68 13 10 1 6 225
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 6-28 21.4% 2nd Half: 12-24 50.0% OT: 2-6 33.3% Game: 34.5% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 1-13 7.7% 2nd Half: 6-12 50.0% OT: 1-3 33.3% Game: 28.6% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 3-5 60.0% 2nd Half: 15-16 93.8% OT: 2-3 66.7% Game: 83.3% 2
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Officials: Pete Hansen, Al Monaco, Tim Garrett
Technical fouls: South Dakota-None. North Dakota-None.
Attendance: 3785
Score by Periods 1st 2nd OT Total
South Dakota.................. 32 29 10 - 71
North Dakota.................. 16 45 7 - 68