Herald Staff Writer
DENVER -- With 8 1/2 minutes to go, UND senior Chad Mustard committed his fifth foul. Before heading to the Sioux bench, Mustard went to shake the hand of Metro State coach Mike Dunlap.
When Mustard reached the Sioux bench, he buried his head into the shoulder of UND coach Rich Glas.
The Mustard-led era of UND basketball was over.
So was UND's season.
Aggressive and athletic Metro State of Denver beat UND 82-58 on Friday night in the semifinals of the NCAA Division II North Central Region men's basketball tournament before 1,483 fans in the Auraria Events Center.
The loss ended UND's season at 23-8 while Metro (29-4) advances to tonight's regional title game against Wayne (Neb.) State, an 86-83 winner over South Dakota in the other semifinal.
"They have a great team," Mustard said of No. 3-ranked Metro, last year's national runner-up. "For us to play with a team like that, we had to shoot the ball well."
The Sioux, however, shot only 29 percent, a season low.
Metro's pressure defense, which had the ability to spring double-teams all over the court, perhaps had a lot to do with UND's poor shooting. The Roadrunners, led by Lee Barlow's 17 points, pressured UND throughout much of the game.
When the Sioux did get good looks at the basket, their shots wouldn't fall.
"They were relentless on defense," said UND's Hunter Reinke, who was the only Sioux in double figures with 19 points. "They always were in the passing lanes. Everywhere you looked, they were there. It looked like they had seven or eight players on the floor all the time."
Metro thrives on its defense.
"Defensively, we did good job," Dunlap said. "In particular, we did a good job on Mustard. We never let him get the ball in the spot where he wanted it. Our plan was to pressure him. And we didn't let them run a continuity offense. They also didn't know where they were going to get their shots. Hence, they shot 29 percent."
Mustard finished with eight points, but led both teams with 12 rebounds.
For UND, Metro's frenzied defensive style of play was something the Sioux hadn't seen this season in the North Central Conference.
"That was the best team we've played against as far as style of play," Glas said. "We knew with their scrambling defense, we were going to have to have some turnovers. But we also had some open shots and we couldn't hit them."
The Sioux stayed with Metro for the first eight minutes. Two Reinke free throws cut Metro's lead to 13-12, but the Roadrunners outscored the Sioux 30-12 the rest of the half for a 43-24 lead.
The lead reached 30 points (81-51) following the third of three straight uncontested dunks by Michael Alcock, Rashawn Fulcher and John Bynum.
It was Showtime for the Roadrunners, who now have their sights set on Wayne and a return trip to the Elite Eight.
"Last year, we made a run (at a national title)," Barlow said. "This year, we know what's ahead of us and what we have to do."
Five Sioux seniors -- Mustard, Reinke, Marcus Travis, Brady Larson and Blaine Ristvedt -- played their final game and now can look back on their careers. Most were four-year starters. And they finished with a 65-47 career record and a trip to the playoffs.
"It was a disappointing end," Mustard said. "But our senior class did a lot."
Metro St. 82, UND 58
Key play: Metro's 14-2 run for 27-14 lead.
Key player: Lee Barlow, 17 points.
Key stat: Metro's defense holds UND to 29 percent shooting.