Herald Staff Writer
DENVER -- Finally, the four-year drought is over.
And it couldn't have come at a better time for UND seniors Chad Mustard, Marcus Travis, Brady Larson, Hunter Reinke and Blaine Ristvedt.
UND rallied from a 14-point second-half deficit to beat South Dakota State 73-67 on Thursday night in the first round of the NCAA Division II North Central Region men's basketball tournament at the Auraria Events Center.
UND's seniors had never beaten SDSU in eight regular-season meetings dating back to 1996. For much of the game, it looked like UND's streak would reach nine.
"I didn't want to go out with another loss to them,"said Mustard, who scored 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds."They kind of set it up for us. If there was going to be a time we were going to beat them, this was it.
"I guess we won the one that counted."
UND struggled early, but played perhaps its toughest when the season was on the line.
It was another physical game between the teams. The Sioux, Travis in particular, took their shots. But Travis responded after taking a shot to the nose from SDSU's Casey Estling early in the second half.
Travis was on the floor for approximately a minute. The Jacks were up 37-23 and on the verge of reaching the semifinal round against top-seeded Metro State.
"I said, OK, it's time to fight back,'" said Travis, who scored 16 points."If we were going to go down, we were going to go down fighting."
From that point, UND clawed its way back into contention.
UND's best play came in a stretch that saw the Sioux turn a 41-30 deficit into a 44-43 lead on Travis' jumper wit 13:06 to play.
During that stretch, UND was carried by Mustard, Travis and Larson."When we really needed something to happen, our seniors really stepped up,"UND coach Rich Glas said."There were times we could have folded the tent."
After Travis' basket gave the Sioux their first lead since early in the game, the Jackrabbits -- led by Josh Cerveny's 14 points -- forged a 62-56 lead with 4:54 left.
But UND rallied again. Mustard scored three straight points before Ristvedt's basket cut SDSU's lead to 62-61. Ristvedt then followed with two free throws at 3:56 for a 63-62 UND lead.
The Sioux never trailed again. Curtis Munlin's basket off the drive and another basket by Mustard at 1:14 gave UND a 69-64 lead. Finally, it appeared SDSU's stranglehold was over.
UND held on in the final minutes with three of its top players on the bench. Kyle Behrens, Larson and Reinke all fouled out. But Travis said every player played with his limits.
"That's when it comes down to being a veteran team,"Travis said."Every player understands his role. And everyone stepped it up. Curtis scores on the drive and Blaine comes through with key free throws and rebounds."
In the first half, UND appeared flat. The Sioux were outrebounded (23-14) and shot only 30 percent compared to SDSU's 52 percent. The result was a SDSU 35-23 lead at the break.
"In the first half, we were tentative,"Glas said."We were tip-toeing around out there. And they were the aggressor. But in the second half, we battled. And Chad Mustard battled the whole game."
Tonight, UND (23-7) plays No. 1 seed Metro State in the semifinals.
"We're just looking forward to playing anyone right now,"Glas said."Obviously, it will be a tough game. But now we've got a chance."
UND 73, SDSU 67
Key play: Two Blaine Ristvedt free throws for 63-62 UND lead.
Key player: Chad Mustard, 23 points, 10 rebounds.
Key stat: UND holds SDSU to 29 percent shooting in second half.
| UND (73) | |||
| Name | FG | FT | Points |
| Mustard | 8-16 | 7-9 | 23 |
| Travis | 5-13 | 4-5 | 16 |
| Behrens | 2-3 | 0-0 | 4 |
| Larson | 2-5 | 0-0 | 5 |
| Jacobson | 2-7 | 0-0 | 5 |
| Ristvedt | 3-7 | 3-4 | 9 |
| Reinke | 1-3 | 4-6 | 6 |
| Munlin | 4-11 | 1-2 | 9 |
| Totals | 25-65 | 19-26 | 73 |
| South Dakota St. (67) | |||
| Estling | 3-5 | 2-6 | 8 |
| Cone | 2-4 | 5-8 | 10 |
| Fischer | 2-7 | 2-2 | 6 |
| Cress | 3-4 | 1-6 | 7 |
| Hansen | 1-14 | 2-2 | 4 |
| Stoebner | 4-10 | 2-2 | 12 |
| Schantz | 1-1 | 0-0 | 2 |
| Volmer | 2-4 | 0-0 | 4 |
| Cerveny | 6-11 | 2-2 | 14 |
| Totals | 24-63 | 16-28 | 67 |
Halftime: SDSU 35, UND 23.
3-Point goals: UND 4-20 (Travis 2-4, Jacobson 1-5, Larson 1-4, Behrens 0-1, Munlin 0-3, Ristvedt 0-1, Reinke 0-2), SDSU 3-16 (Steobner 2-6, Cone 1-3, Hansen 0-5).
Total fouls: UND 25, SDSU 20.
Fouled out: Larson, Behrens, Reinke, Fischer, Cerveny.
Technical Fouls: Behrens.
Rebounds: UND 40 (Mustard 10), SDSU 47 (Cone 12).
Assists: UND 6 (Munlin 2), SDSU 10 (Hansen 4).
Turnovers: UND 13, SDSU 21.
Attendence: 785.