GRAND FORKS, N.D. — Minnesota State, Mankato forward Nick Ellenberger scored 18 of his 25 points in the second half to lead the visiting Mavericks to an 88-79 comeback victory over North Dakota in North Central Conference men’s basketball on Friday.
The loss was the fourth in a row and sixth in the past eight games for UND (15-8 overall, 8-7 NCC). MSU, Mankato raised its season mark to 14-9 overall and 7-8 in the NCC.
The Sioux led 39-28 at the half and upped their lead to 13 points (47-34) with 18:30 to play. MSU, Mankato then went on a 13-4 run in the next four minutes to cut the Sioux lead to 51-47.
UND got its lead back up to eight points (55-47), but the Mavericks went on a 12-3 run and grabbed a 59-58 lead with 9:58 remaining.
The Sioux were up 68-66, but a three-pointer by MSU guard Drew Carlson gave the Mavs a 69-68 lead with 5:13 left, and another three by MSU’s Kyle Staloch made it 72-68 Mavericks with 4:04 to play. UND never got closer than four points again.
Kyle Behrens (Sr., Hayfield, Minn.) led the Sioux with 28 points and Jeff Brandt (Fr., Minot, N.D.) scored 26 points for UND. Curtis Munlin (Sr., Mishawaka, Ind.) scored 14 points for the Sioux.
Both teams shot the ball well. MSU made 56.1 percent of its shots from the field (32-of-57), while UND hit 51.7 percent of its field goal attempts (31-of-60).
North Dakota committed just six turnovers to Minnesota State’s 11, but the Mavericks dominated the boards, getting 36 rebounds to the Sioux’s 24. MSU outrebounded UND 19-6 in the second half.
UND still needs either a win or an Augustana loss to clinch a berth in the NCC playoffs. Both teams have three games to play.
UND plays host to St. Cloud State on Saturday at 7 p.m.
Official Basketball Box Score -- GAME TOTALS -- FINAL STATISTICS
Minnesota State, Mankato vs North Dakota
2/16/01 8 p.m. at Grand Forks, N.D.
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VISITORS: Minnesota State, Mankato 14-9, 7-8 NCC
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
05 Drew Carlson........ * 6-8 4-6 2-2 0 0 0 2 18 3 2 0 0 36
31 Eric Siebrands...... * 6-15 1-5 2-2 2 7 9 1 15 2 3 0 0 28
33 Tim Brown........... * 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 13
41 Nick Ellenberger.... * 10-13 0-0 5-6 4 7 11 1 25 1 1 0 0 34
51 Jon Hickman......... * 2-3 1-1 0-1 0 0 0 4 5 3 0 0 0 21
11 Matt Jones.......... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3
13 Jay Larson.......... 1-4 0-1 0-0 0 1 1 2 2 1 1 0 1 17
15 Josh Ziemke......... 2-5 1-3 3-4 2 4 6 2 8 4 2 0 1 23
23 Kyle Staloch........ 5-8 1-1 4-5 1 2 3 2 15 4 2 0 0 21
55 Scott von Lehe...... 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4
TEAM................ 1 3 4
Totals.............. 32-57 8-17 16-20 10 26 36 15 88 18 11 0 2 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-29 37.9% 2nd Half: 21-28 75.0% Game: 56.1% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 3-9 33.3% 2nd Half: 5-8 62.5% Game: 47.1% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 3-5 60.0% 2nd Half: 13-15 86.7% Game: 80.0% 1
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HOME TEAM: North Dakota 15-8, 8-7 NCC
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........ * 2-9 1-5 0-0 0 1 1 3 5 5 1 0 3 28
12 Curtis Munlin....... * 5-8 1-2 3-5 1 1 2 3 14 6 3 0 2 37
30 Jeff Brandt......... * 9-17 4-11 4-5 0 1 1 0 26 6 1 0 0 33
40 Jerrid Sebesta...... * 2-3 0-0 0-0 1 1 2 5 4 0 0 0 0 19
54 Kyle Behrens........ * 12-18 1-2 3-5 2 4 6 4 28 1 0 2 0 34
22 Corey Sheplee....... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5
32 Ryan Walker......... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 4 4 1 0 4 0 0 1 16
34 Nigel Jenkins....... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 3
44 Brandon Badding..... 1-5 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 3 2 1 0 0 0 25
TEAM................ 2 4 6
Totals.............. 31-60 7-20 10-15 6 18 24 19 79 23 6 3 6 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 17-32 53.1% 2nd Half: 14-28 50.0% Game: 51.7% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-7 28.6% 2nd Half: 5-13 38.5% Game: 35.0% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 3-4 75.0% 2nd Half: 7-11 63.6% Game: 66.7% 2
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Officials: John Lieser, Tim Garrett, Lorenzo Bronson
Technical fouls: Minnesota State, Mankato-None. North Dakota-None.
Attendance: 2761
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
Minnesota State, Mankato...... 28 60 - 88
North Dakota.................. 39 40 - 79