UND (89) vs. South Dakota (95)
South Dakota beats UND men
By Justin Luther
The Forum - 01/15/2000
GRAND FORKS, N.D. – To capture the North Central Conference men’s basketball championship, teams are going to have to get through South Dakota, the current NCC leader.
The University of North Dakota found out on Friday just how difficult that is going to be.
Conference scoring leader Nathan Blessen torched the Sioux for 25 points, leading the Coyotes to a 95-89 victory in front of 4,011 fans at the Hyslop Sports Center.
Blessen’s effort, along with a strong team outing from 3-point range, helped South Dakota keep its perfect record intact (14-0 overall, 5-0 NCC). The Sioux fell to 2-2 NCC (13-2 overall).
“We’re a confident team,” South Dakota forward Jeremy Kudera said. “It was a great win and should give us some more momentum.”
After a balanced first half, the Coyotes clung to a five-point lead going into the locker room. When they came out in the second half, it took just minutes for their advantage to grow to 16 points.
Kudera was mostly to blame. The 6-foot-6 sophomore nailed three of the team’s 10 total 3-pointers in the 14-3 run.
“My teammates got me the ball and set some nice screens,” said Kudera, who finished with 16 points. “I was sort of feeling it and they fell for me.”
The Sioux stopped the outburst, but it was only temporarily.
The Coyotes followed their first run with another, this time one of 10 unanswered points. It started with a Seth Ahrendt two-handed jam and concluded with a pair of 3-pointers, including another from Kudera.
“That was the nail in the coffin,” Sioux forward Marcus Travis said. “From there, we were playing catch up.”
North Dakota slowed down South Dakota, but the damage had been done. Even when the Sioux did close in, the Coyotes refused to relinquish their lead by making nearly every free throw down the stretch. South Dakota finished the contest, connecting on 88 percent of its free throws (29 of 33).
Blessen alone hit 8 of 8 free throws as the game was winding down.
The 6-4 junior forward, who also hit 7 of 13 shots from the floor, finished 10 of 11 at the free-throw line.
Besides Blessen and Kudera, three other Coyotes logged double-figure performances. Nate Tibbetts, who scored 11 points, also dished out 10 assists.
For the Sioux, Travis, who helped keep the game close late by hitting a couple of tough jump shots, finished with 13 points, four rebounds and three assists. The loss also spoiled a 19-point effort from Brady Larson and a 15-point performance from Hunter Reinke.
“We just didn’t come out and attack,” Travis said. “They were more aggressive and we made too many defensive mistakes.”
The loss sent the Sioux down to the middle of the NCC race, while South Dakota is on the verge of running away with the crown.
“It’s not really discouraging,” Travis said. “We are just going to put this one behind us. Anything can happen in the NCC.”
SOUTH DAKOTA (14-0, 5-0): Hickenbottom 3-4 0-0 7, Blessen 7-13 10-11 25, Kudera 5-11 2-2 16, Barrow 4-7 1-2 10, Tibbetts 3-5 5-6 11, Ries 3-4 9-10 18, Ahrendt 3-3 2-2 8. Totals 28-47 29-33 95.
NORTH DAKOTA (13-2, 2-2): Travis 6-9 1-1 13, Behrens 4-5 2-3 10, Mustard 6-13 2-4 14, Jacobson 2-12 0-0 9, Munlin 0-2 0-0 0, Larson 7-17 1-2 19, Walker 1-1 0-0 2, Ristvedt 3-6 1-1 7, Reinke 5-12 2-3 15. Totals 36-74 9-14 89.
Halftime: SD 40, ND 35. 3-point goals–SD 10-21 (Hickenbottom 1-2, Blessen 1-3, Kudera 4-7, Barrow 1-3, Tibbetts 0-2, Ries 3-4), ND 8-23 (Travis 0-2, Munlin 0-1, Larson 2-10, Reinke 3-6). Rebounds–SD 29 (Kudera 7), ND 33 (Mustard 8). Assists–SD 20 (Tibbetts 10), ND 12 (Larson 4). Turnovers–SD 13, ND 9. Total fouls–SD 14, ND 22. Fouled out–ND, Jacobson. A–4,011.
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