By Mike McFeely
The Forum - 12/02/1998
Damian Green was a perfect 10 for Moorhead State.
Green, a senior point guard, made a 15-foot jump shot with 7.7 seconds remaining to lift the Dragons to a 74-72 upset of North Dakota in college men's basketball at Alex Nemzek Hall on Tuesday. Jeff Johnson's block of Hunter Berg's lay-up in the final seconds secured the victory.
After the Sioux's Tom Jacobson nailed a 3-pointer with 19 seconds left to tie the game at 72, Green took the inbound pass and dribbled the length of the court before pulling up near the free-throw line for a jumper.
It's a play the Dragons dub "10," because they use it with 10 or fewer seconds left on the clock. Four players spread out along the baseline, allowing Green to penetrate. If a teammate's defender slides over to help, Green is supposed to pass to the open man. But no Sioux offered help, so Green shot.
"I looked up at the clock and there was 10 seconds left, both of the wing players were covered and I felt I was going to be called on a 5-second call, so I knew right then and there I had to take the shot," said Green, who was 5 of 6 from the field and from the line to finish with 17 points.
"Thank God it went in."
The Sioux immediately called time out and had plenty of time for a final shot. Berg penetrated and tried a reverse lay-up, but Johnson easily blocked it and grabbed the loose ball as time ran out.
"I told Jeff that was the biggest block and biggest rebound of the night right there," Green said. "He not only blocked the shot, but was able to grab the rebound, too. That was great."
The victory brought a frustrating five-game losing streak to an end for the Dragons (2-5). Except for a loss at home to Concordia, Moorhead State felt it had played well even in defeat.
"I'm glad we got over the hump tonight," said Dragons coach Dave Schellhase. "Maybe we'll get some confidence now. We have some pretty young guys. I told them I'm just glad we didn't play them tough and then lose. We needed to win one of these."
The Dragons opened a 14-point lead, 49-35, on Luke Johnson's inside bucket with 15:43 left in the second half. They were helped when Sioux center Chad Mustard was called for his third foul on a rebound, then compounded the problem by following up with a technical foul. That gave the 6-foot-7, 235-pound junior four personal fouls and he had to sit down with 16:07 left.
"We were disappointed in him getting the 'T,'" Sioux coach Rich Glas said. "He has to play more emotionally in control."
Mustard sparked North Dakota's comeback when he returned with 11 minutes left. He scored 13 of the Sioux's next 16 points to bring them within 59-58 with 51/2 minutes remaining.
But Scott Savor had a couple of important offensive rebounds to help the Dragons keep the lead. With three minutes left he rebounded a miss by Tunde Adelekan, which led to a Green jumper and a 66-61 advantage. With 1:25 remaining, Savor tipped in a miss by Green for a 70-66 Moorhead State lead.
"Late in the game we had some great individual plays that won the game," Schellhase said.
For the Sioux (3-3), the usual suspects cost them. They made just 10 of 27 shots (37 percent) before halftime, when they trailed 37-29, and missed their first seven 3-pointers before Berg finally made one with 13:19 remaining in the second half.
Moorhead State outrebounded North Dakota by 11, 39-28.
"We have to find an effort level, a passion level that brings the most out in you," Glas said. "Until you find that you are going to struggle."
NORTH DAKOTA (3-3): Travis 3-7 1-1 7, Reinke 3-6 0-1 7, Mustard 8-10 3-3 19, Berg 3-12 4-6 11, Larson 0-3 0-0 0, Jacobson 4-8 0-0 11, Ristvedt 1-3 2-2 4, Badding 0-1 0-0 0, Behrens 4-5 5-9 13. Totals: 26-55 15-22 72.
MOORHEAD STATE (2-5): Tow 2-6 3-3 8, Williams 7-12 5-7 19, Savor 5-6 1-1 11, Green 6-12 5-6 17, Adelekan 4-9 0-1 10, LaBounty 0-1 0-0 0, Echelbarger 1-3 0-0 3, Macy 0-1 0-0 0, McCullar 0-1 0-0 0, J. Johnson 0-5 0-1 0, L.Johnson 1-1 4-4 6. Totals: 26-57 18-23 74.
Halftime: Moorhead State 37, North Dakota 29. Rebounds: North Dakota 28 (Reinke 6, Behrens 6), Moorhead State 39 (Adelekan 10). Assists: North Dakota 15 (Larson 4), Moorhead State 13 (Tow 3, Savor 3). Turnovers: North Dakota 8 (Reinke 2, Larson 2), Moorhead State 14 (Green 4). Blocks: North Dakota 5 (Behrens 3), Moorhead State 3 (J. Johnson 2). Steals: North Dakota 6 (Berg 2, Jacobson 2), Moorhead State 6 (Williams 2).