Herald Staff Writer
If Chad Mustard had his way, he'd stay on the floor with two first-half fouls.
But Mustard isn't in charge of the UND men's basketball team. When he picked up his second foul four minutes into a game against St. Cloud State, Mustard headed for the Sioux bench. He didn't return until the second half, which is Sioux coach Rich Glas' usual course of action.
UND's senior center, however, doesn't need a lot of minutes to make an impact.
In 17 minutes Saturday, he turned in one of his most dominating performances of his career in leading the Sioux to an 84-71 North Central Conference men's basketball win before 3,421 Hyslop Sports Center fans.
"I'd rather play with two fouls," Mustard said. "The two (first-half) fouls hurt me, but in the second half I had some energy left, so I could go out and play hard."
Mustard scored 23 points -- 17 in the second half -- and finished with a career-high 15 rebounds to help UND reach 20 wins for the first time since the 1993-94 season. The Sioux are 9-5 in the NCC and 20-5 overall.
Twenty wins, however, do not guarantee UND a berth in the NCAA Division II playoffs.
"But if we keep playing like the way we've been playing, we're in," said UND's Tom Jacobson, who finished with 15 points.
UND's win also marked the first time this season it has swept a home NCC series. "It was a big weekend for us," Glas said, referring to wins over St. Cloud and Minnesota State-Mankato. "Those were two hard-nosed games. Those teams had to win."
The Huskies didn't fold after falling behind by 46-34 at halftime. Rado Rancik (16 points) and Jonny Reese (16) helped St. Cloud make a run at the Sioux, who struggled with their second-half shooting (32 percent). The Huskies came within two points (60-58) with 7 1/2 minutes left, but Mustard scored five of UND's next seven points.
The Sioux got their biggest basket from Marcus Travis, who hit a three-pointer from the left wing for a 71-62 UND lead with 3:42 left. A Jacobson three-pointer at 3:15 gave UND a 74-64 advantage to end St. Cloud's upset bid.
"In the second half, we missed a lot of shots that were good in the first half," Jacobson said. "If we hit those, it's up to a 20-point lead and it's a lot more comfortable."
But Mustard provided UND a comfort zone with his physical and effective play.
"When people weren't making shots, Chad got it done," Glas said.
With Mustard on the bench, Jacobson, Kyle Behrens and Hunter Reinke carried UND's first-half scoring load. The three combined for 30 of UND's 46 first-half points.
The Sioux played without point guard Curtis Munlin, who injured his ankle in Friday's game. As a result, Brady Larson played 38 minutes at point guard and freshman Ryan Walker also saw playing time.
The loss dropped St. Cloud (7-8 NCC, 15-9) out of the playoff picture. But the Huskies appear to be the team of the future, starting a freshman, two sophomores and a junior.
"We're kind of where North Dakota was at two years ago," St. Cloud coach Kevin Schlagel said. "We're trying to get at the same level they're at now."
SCSU (15-8, 7-7): Rancik 7-14 1-1 16, Kron 3-7 6-8 14, Brant 4-11 5-5 13, Goring 2-6 0-0 5, Reese 7-17 0-1 16, Bishop 1-1 0-0 3, Schmidt 1-1 0-0 2, Johnson 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 26-59 12-15 71.
UND (19-5, 8-5): Travis 3-11 0-0 8, Behrens 4-12 5-7 14, Mustard 10-16 3-6 23, Jacobson 4-8 4-4 15, Larson 1-4 3-4 5, Walker 0-1 0-0 0, Ristvedt 1-1 0-0 2, Badding 0-2 1-2 1, Reinke 4-10 6-10 15. Totals 27-65 6-10 83.
Halftime: UND 46, SCSU 34.
3-point goals: SCSU 7-20 (Rancik 1-5, Kron 2-3, Brant 0-2, Goring 1-3, Reese 2-6, Bishop 1-1), UND 7-21 (Travis 2-6, Behrens 1-3, Jacobson 3-6, Larson 0-1, Walker 0-1, Reinke 1-4).
Fouled out: Rancik, Brant.
Rebounds: SCSU 36 (Kron 11), UND 44 (Mustard 15).
Assists: SCSU 14 (Reese 4), UND 19 (Larson, Behrens 4).
Total fouls: SCSU 25, UND 16.
Attendance: 3,421.