Herald Staff Writer It may have seemed out of character, but Chad Mustard spent the good portion of his game-day practice near the three-point stripe, working on his moves to the basket.
At 6-foot-8, 240 pounds, Mustard usually does his damage within a few feet of the basket, bumping and grinding his way to power layups.
But Mustard showed another dimension of his game Saturday night, leading UND to an 84-79 win over rival North Dakota State in a North Central Conference men's basketball game before 4,074 Hyslop Sports Center fans.
Mustard's quick moves from the wing led the all-NCC senior to a season-high 26 points and helped the Sioux (6-4 NCC, 17-4 overall) move into second place in the NCC.
In a nutshell, Mustard was too big and too quick for NDSU to guard once he got the ball on the wing.
"He uses his quickness to try to take the defender to the rim or draw a foul," UND coach Rich Glas said. "He has the athletic ability to do that."
Mustard connected on 7 of 14 field goal attempts and was 14-of-17 from the line. The story line was much the same last month in Fargo, where Mustard was 9-of-9 from the line in helping the Sioux win by one.
"Mustard is a tough matchup for anyone in the conference," NDSU coach Ray Giacoletti said. "He's been around long enough to take advantage of his strengths. He did a great job of getting to the line."
Just as important as Mustard's play was UND's ability to hold its lead in a well-played second half. With three losses at home this season, UND could not afford another.
The Bison, who trailed by as many as 16 points in the first half, cut UND's lead to 68-65 on Denver TenBroek's three-pointer with 6:21 left. The Bison rallied from the deficit behind 62 percent second-half shooting.
UND, however, scored the game's next six points. Mustard hit two free throws, followed by back-to-back baskets by Marcus Travis and Brady Larson for a 74-65 advantage.
"They executed in crunch time," Giacoletti said. "Teams that do that win basketball games."
The Sioux executed well throughout, shooting 48 percent, making 32 of 40 free throws and committing only five turnovers. Unlike their previous home games, the Sioux were rock-solid throughout.
"This is the best we've played at home, hands down," said Travis, who finished with 16 points. "The whole key was that we wanted to come out and set the tone. We wanted to send a message that we meant business."
UND's solid play led to a 35-25 halftime lead.
The Sioux basically kept that cushion until the Bison (6-4, 13-6) cut the lead to three. Gary Hall (19 points), Danny English (16) and Jason Retzlaff (15) carried the Bison in the second half.
"They knocked down some real tough shots," Glas said.
But so did UND's four seniors, who took turns making key plays. Larson and Hunter Reinke complemented Mustard and Travis by scoring 14 points.
"Our seniors got it done," Glas said.
That may be the best sign from the game as the Sioux took another step toward qualifying for the NCAA Division II playoffs. Their poise down the stretch also helped ease the pain of UND's home loss to Morningside last month, a game in which the Sioux surrendered an 18-point lead in the final six minutes.
"It was devastating to lose that one," Larson said. "We needed to work on our end-of-the-game execution. We did a better job of protecting the ball and making the right passes."
UND protected the ball and made the right passes, mostly to Mustard, who had a string of 20 straight free throws against the Bison before missing an attempt with 4:07 left.
"It's just a matter of focusing in," Mustard said. "I have a tendency to think too much."
Against the Bison, Mustard let his instincts take over. As a result, the Sioux climbed another notch in the NCC.
UND 84, NDSU 79
Key play: UND's 6-0 run for 74-65 lead.
Key player: Chad Mustard, 26 points, 14 of 17 free throws.
Key stat: UND commits only 5 turnovers.
| UND (84) | |||
| Name | FG | FT | Points |
| Mustard | 6-10 | 14-17 | 26 |
| Travis | 4-12 | 6-6 | 16 |
| Behrens | 2-4 | 1-2 | 6 |
| Munlin | 1-5 | 0-2 | 2 |
| Larson | 4-5 | 4-5 | 14 |
| Jacobson | 2-6 | 0-0 | 4 |
| Ristvedt | 1-2 | 0-0 | 2 |
| Badding | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 |
| Reinke | 3-4 | 7-8 | 14 |
| Totals | 23-48 | 32-40 | 84 |
| NDSU (79) | |||
| English | 3-7 | 10-12 | 16 |
| Smith | 2-5 | 0-2 | 4 |
| Hall | 7-14 | 4-4 | 19 |
| Hedin | 1-1 | 1-2 | 3 |
| Retzlaff | 5-9 | 3-5 | 15 |
| Ross | 0-0 | 2-3 | 2 |
| Breneman | 3-3 | 1-2 | 7 |
| Majkrzak | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 |
| TenBroek | 3-7 | 0-0 | 9 |
| Thompson | 1-3 | 0-2 | 2 |
| Silk | 1-1 | 0-0 | 2 |
| Totals | 26-50 | 21-32 | 79 |
Halftime: UND 35, NDSU 25.
Total fouls: NDSU 27, UND 25.
Fouled out: Thompson, Breneman.
Total rebounds: NDSU 34 (English 9); UND 26 (Mustard 7).
3-point goals: NDSU 6-11 (Retzlaff 2-3, TenBroek 3-6, Thompson 0-1, Hall 1-1); UND 6-11 (Travis 2-4, Jacobson 0-2, Larson 2-3, Reinke 1-1, Behrens 1-1).
Assists: NDSU 12 (English, Hall 3); UND 12 (Ristvedt 4).
Turnovers: NDSU 12 (English 5); UND 5 (Travis 2).
A–4,074.