UND guard Brady Larson used to be hard on himself for missing shots. Not anymore.
"Each night is different," Larson said. "There will be highs and lows."
The Sioux junior had his shots falling Tuesday night, as he led UND to a 76-52 men's basketball victory over Valley City State at Hyslop Sports Center. Larson scored all of his team-high 15 points in the first half, going 5 of 7 from the field.
"I was one-for-whatever at Mary (last week) but being older you have to forget about that stuff," Larson said. "In that game I was tentative. I didn't shoot real well. I want to attack the basket and not worry about the misses."
With all five starters returning from last year's team, UND coach Rich Glas expects Larson and the rest of the Sioux to recover quickly from a tough night. It's all part of the mental toughness that Glas says is UND's biggest challenge this season.
And Larson, expected to carry UND's perimeter scoring load, said he feels more comfortable in the backcourt because of last year's experience with Hunter Berg, UND's all-North Central Conference point guard.
"We have so much confidence in Hunter," Larson said. "We know he'll take care of a lot of things. Last year, you couldn't expect that right away, with him coming in from a junior college."
Larson knocked down his shots early, breaking down Valley City's surprisingly quick defense. Larson scored nine points in UND's decisive 16-2 run to open the game.
The 1-2 Vikings, led by Larry Suggs' 17 points, decided to concentrate on 6-foot-7 UND center Chad Mustard. That left the Sioux good looks from the perimeter and Larson, Marcus Travis (10 points) and Blaine Ristvedt (14) delivered.
Ristvedt's points came largely from his ability to drive the lane.
"Blaine did what he does -- penetrate," Glas said. "He can slither through the defense and make things happen."
UND's offense was sharp in the first half, making 15 of 27 (56 percent) of its shots. The Sioux were 8 of 13 on 3-pointers as Larson (3) and Tom Jacobson (2) led the way. UND's shooting fell to 38 percent in the second half.
"Offensively, we're not flowing right now," Larson said. "The defense usually is ahead of the offense at this time of the season. We got a little complacent when we were up by 30. How much do you have to win by?"
However, UND's defense was solid throughout. And that was pleasing to Glas.
"We made it difficult for them defensively," Glas said. "But we expected that to happen."