It's still too early to call UND's hard-fought 81-72 win over Northern State on Saturday night a turning point in the up-and-down Sioux men's basketball season.
However, the win before 2,011 fans at Hyslop Sports Center did signal that the Sioux have the potential to stay competitive when play begins in the North Central Conference. And that sign hasn't been in sight for the last two weeks.
"We hope this is a turning point," said Sioux center Chad Mustard, who led the Sioux with 19 points. "Any day you can go back to playing poor basketball, but this win is a sign of what we can be like every night. We stuck with it."
Indeed, UND's showing was a vast improvement from its recent play, which included a so-so home performance against Bemidji State and a disappointing road loss to struggling Moorhead State.
Northern, ranked No. 17 nationally and a physical team from the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference that qualified for last season's Elite Eight, presented UND with its biggest challenge of the season. The Sioux met the challenge.
It was physical, and the Sioux had major rebounding problems (Northern 49-33 edge). The Sioux offense struggled at times, but their defense always found ways to prevent Northern from making any major runs.
"It was a hard-nosed, good old-fashioned basketball game," Sioux coach Rich Glas said. "There were people banging against each other and players were going at it tooth and nail."
UND improved to 4-3 on the strength of a 17-2 first-half run, one keyed by reserves Hunter Reinke, Blaine Ristvedt and Brady Larson. Reinke, after having his first shot blocked, started the run with back-to-back 3-pointers. Ristvedt hit from 19 feet and Larson, trying to work his way out of a shooting slump, scored on an offensive rebound for a 29-18 lead with 6:50 to play.
Sioux point guard Hunter Berg capped the six-minute run with a three-point play, giving UND a 32-18 lead with 6:15 left.
"Before, when there were loose balls on the floor, we didn't get any," said Berg, who had 18 points and seven assists. "Tonight, we got the loose balls. We talked about being more intense, ready to play. It's easy getting up for a game like this, because they were an Elite Eight team last year. They have a lot of respect around here and in the country."
A 15-footer by Berg with 2:41 left in the half gave UND its biggest lead (40-26).
The Wolves, led by Jared Miller (19 points) and Scott Hanson (16), scrapped their way back into contention but could get no closer than six points. The Sioux defense received key stops when they needed them. Offensively, they came up with crucial points when needed.
The fact that UND's season may have been on the ropes after the disappointing Moorhead loss didn't help Northern, which fell to 6-2.
"I got the feeling that they were playing with their backs to the wall," Northern coach Bob Olson said. "And they rose to the occasion. That's a credit to their coaching staff."
Olson said UND's defense was aggressive. And the Wolves didn't help themselves offensively, especially in the first half.
"We got real impatient offensively when they made their run," Olson said. "We did some things that were uncharacteristic of ourselves. But they came out and got after us."
The win helped take the sting out of UND's recent poor play. Glas said it's still too early to tell if the win will serve as a turning point for the Sioux.
"Talk is cheap," Glas said. "We have to step up and do it again."