MANKATO, Minn. -- Don't write off the UND men's basketball season yet.
The Sioux -- solid from start to finish -- stayed in contention for an NCAA regional playoff berth Friday night with an 85-75 North Central Conference win over Minnesota State-Mankato at Otto Arena, where most of the game was played without a functioning overhead scoreboard.
"We still have to convince people, but we feel we can play with anyone in the region,"said UND's Chad Mustard, who had another monster game with 25 points, 6 rebounds and 3 steals."This win brings us one step closer to running the table and having a chance at the playoffs."
The Sioux had plenty of reasons to write home about their 10-point win. Their defense held NCC leading scorer Blaine Joerger to a season-low 5 points (19 under his average); they opened the game with an 11-3 run; they shot 53 percent in the first half; and they never let the Mavericks gain any momentum in the second half.
"We needed this win, so this game was the most important of the year,"UND coach Rich Glas said."It was a workman-like job. We came here and took care of business. Now, it's time to move on."
The Sioux, who now are alone in second place, improved to 8-5 in the NCC and 14-8 overall. To reach the playoffs, UND likely will have to win its remaining five NCC games. Mankato, meanwhile, dropped to 8-6 and 15-8. The Mavericks' playoff chances took a major hit.
UND's play early was the difference. Mustard, Kyle Behrens (16 points), Marcus Travis (16) all played well inside. And to Sioux point guard Hunter Berg (16), that was the key.
"Chad was the man early,"Berg said."It was easier for us to get in the flow when he and the rest of the inside guys play like that."
Mustard scored eight straight UND points during one stretch of the first half. His final two, coming with 2:02 left, gave the Sioux a 37-30 lead. And his 3-point play with one minute left, lifted UND to a 41-30 halftime advantage.
UND built a 49-32 lead with 18:12 left when Berg drilled a long-distance 3-pointer. The Mavericks, led by Dan Corley's 21 points, cut the lead to seven (68-61) with 6:40 left, but a Mustard inside basket and four straight free throws by Behrens ended any hope of a Mankato win.
UND's defense on Joerger -- a deadly 3-point shooter -- never let the Mavericks make a run.
Sioux guards Tom Jacobson and Brady Larson took turns guarding Joreger early. But UND's big players also had a major role in stopping Joerger, who scored 32 points in Mankato's 100-83 win over the Sioux last month in Grand Forks.
"When they set screens on the perimeter for (Joerger), our post players did a good job of stepping out, which took away his angle at the basket,"Glas said."That made it hard for him to get a good look."
Joerger didn't score until the 15:45 mark of the second half. He finished making only 2 of 8 from the field.
Joerger's game wasn't the only thing suffering in Otto Arena. After the Sioux opened with their 11-3 run, the overhead scoreboard quit. The small scoreboard at the officials' table functioned, however. A stop watch was used to keep time for the shot clock. And the score was announced after each basket.
"It was weird,"Glas said of the scoreboard problem."You had a hard time seeing what the score was."
| UND (85) | |||
| Name | FG | FT | Points |
| Mustard | 9-20 | 7-7 | 25 |
| Travis | 5-11 | 5-6 | 16 |
| Behrens | 3-8 | 9-14 | 16 |
| Berg | 4-7 | 6-6 | 16 |
| Jacobson | 1-3 | 0-0 | 3 |
| Larson | 2-3 | 0-0 | 5 |
| Ristvedt | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 |
| Reinke | 1-2 | 0-0 | 2 |
| Badding | 1-2 | 0-0 | 2 |
| Totals | 26-57 | 27-33 | 85 |
| MSU-Mankato (75) | |||
| Powell | 8-14 | 3-5 | 19 |
| Joerger | 2-8 | 0-1 | 5 |
| Johnson | 5-10 | 0-0 | 13 |
| Corley | 8-15 | 4-4 | 21 |
| Ellenburger | 1-5 | 2-2 | 4 |
| Knox | 3-7 | 0-1 | 6 |
| Baudette | 2-3 | 0-0 | 5 |
| Larson | 0-3 | 0-0 | 0 |
| Siebrands | 1-3 | 0-0 | 2 |
| Merseth | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0 |
| Totals | 30-70 | 9-13 | 100 |