December 29, 2001
Grand Forks, ND – University of North Dakota sophomore Jeff Brandt hit 9-of-12 shots from the field, 6-of-8 from 3-point range, to score a game-high 24 points as the Sioux defeated Northern Colorado, 87-78, on Saturday night. UND led 49-39 at the half and was up 82-64 with 4:40 to play before the Bears went on an 11-0 that cut the Sioux's lead to seven, 82-75, with 2:05 to play. But UND hit 5-of-7 free throws down the stretch to improve to 7-4 on the season, 2-1 in North Central Conference play. Northern Colorado fell to 5-5, 0-2 in the NCC.
Both teams shot well early as they raced to a 25-25 tie 11 minutes into the game. However UND went on a 10-0 run over the next two minutes to take a 35-25 lead with 6:57 to play in the opening half, with seniors Nigel Jenkins and Jerrid Sebesta, junior Jerome Beasley and sophomore Jade Jahner all scoring in the run. Northern Colorado scored the next six points to close to within four, 35-31, with 5:01 to play, but the Sioux would close the half on a 14-8 run to take a 49-39 lead into the locker room.
Brandt led UND with 11 first-half points, while Beasley had nine and junior Ryan Walker seven. The Sioux shot 51.5 percent for the half, while UNC shot 55.6 percent.
The second-half lead remained between eight and 14 points until freshman Mike Johnson hit a layup to put UND up 75-59 with 7:55 to play. That was followed by a technical foul on Northern Colorado's Justin Kaliszewski. The ensuing free throw put North Dakota ahead 76-59 with 7:21 to play. Two straight jumpers by Beasley and a jumper by Brandt gave UND its largest lead of the game, 18 points, 82-64, with 4:40 to play.
UNC's 11-0 run cut the Sioux lead to 82-75, but seven would be as close as the Bears would get.
Brandt was followed closely by Beasley's 22 points. He also had a team-high 13 rebounds. Walker had nine points for UND, while sophomore Josh Johnson and Jahner had seven.
North Dakota shot 49.2 percent for the game. After shooting 55.6 percent in the first half, Northern Colorado shot just 28.6 percent in the second half and 40.3 percent for the game. The Sioux hit 11-of-18 3-point shots for the game (.611).
North Dakota hosts Nebraska-Omaha on Sunday night at 8 p.m. The Mavericks were 74-65 winners at North Dakota State on Saturday night.
Official Basketball Box Score
Northern Colorado vs North Dakota
12/29/01 8 p.m. at Grand Forks, N.D. - Hyslop Sports Center
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VISITORS: Northern Colorado 5-5, 0-2 NCC
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
20 Kevin Knudson....... * 1-5 1-3 0-0 0 3 3 3 3 1 1 0 0 24
34 Aaron Austin........ * 4-11 3-6 0-0 0 4 4 4 11 1 0 1 2 31
41 Howard Jackson...... * 2-6 0-0 0-2 2 6 8 2 4 1 2 0 1 18
44 Justin Kaliszewski.. * 4-9 2-2 1-2 2 1 3 2 11 3 3 0 0 24
45 Ari Zandman Zeman... * 1-2 0-0 0-0 2 0 2 0 2 0 1 0 0 14
24 Sean Nolen.......... 3-9 0-3 3-3 1 1 2 4 9 2 3 0 0 22
25 Jared Ramirez....... 7-10 3-6 2-2 2 1 3 1 19 0 0 0 1 25
43 Michael Morse....... 2-6 0-1 13-15 5 8 13 0 17 2 2 0 0 33
55 Josh Nigut.......... 1-4 0-0 0-0 1 1 2 1 2 0 1 0 0 9
TEAM................ 2 2
Totals.............. 25-62 9-21 19-24 15 27 42 17 78 10 13 1 4 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 15-27 55.6% 2nd Half: 10-35 28.6% Game: 40.3% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 5-8 62.5% 2nd Half: 4-13 30.8% Game: 42.9% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 4-4 100 % 2nd Half: 15-20 75.0% Game: 79.2% 2
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HOME TEAM: North Dakota 7-4, 2-1 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 Mario Porter........ * 1-6 0-2 1-2 1 2 3 0 3 6 3 0 0 20
30 Jeff Brandt......... * 9-12 6-8 0-0 0 1 1 0 24 1 0 0 0 25
32 Ryan Walker......... * 4-7 1-2 0-0 0 2 2 1 9 0 0 0 0 27
42 Josh Johnson........ * 2-3 1-2 2-2 1 0 1 3 7 1 0 0 1 26
54 Jerome Beasley...... * 8-19 1-1 5-6 3 10 13 4 22 1 2 0 1 34
14 Mike Johnson........ 2-3 0-0 2-2 0 1 1 1 6 3 1 0 1 12
20 Jade Jahner......... 1-3 1-2 4-7 0 2 2 0 7 3 2 0 2 20
22 Corey Sheplee....... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
24 Robert Lolar........ 0-2 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 2 0 0 1 0 0 4
34 Nigel Jenkins....... 2-5 1-1 0-1 2 4 6 4 5 1 2 0 0 19
40 Jerrid Sebesta...... 2-3 0-0 0-0 1 1 2 3 4 0 0 1 1 13
Team................ 1 2 3
Totals.............. 31-63 11-18 14-20 10 25 35 18 87 16 12 1 6 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 17-33 51.5% 2nd Half: 14-30 46.7% Game: 49.2% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 7-10 70.0% 2nd Half: 4-8 50.0% Game: 61.1% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 8-11 72.7% 2nd Half: 6-9 66.7% Game: 70.0% 1
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Officials: Tom Mauer, Mike Cannon, John Kirkeby
Technical fouls: Northern Colorado-Justin Kaliszewski. North Dakota-None.
Attendance: 3097
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
Northern Colorado............. 39 39 - 78
North Dakota.................. 49 38 - 87