GRAND FORKS, N.D.--If Charles Dickens were a basketball fan, he may have called this one A Tale of Two Halves.
Trailing by seven points at halftime, the Fighting Sioux opened the second half with a blistering 21-4 run to rally and defeat Dickinson State 69-55 tonight at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center, UND's third straight win after an 0-3 start to the season.
UND, which trailed 36-29 at halftime, outscored the Blue Hawks 40-19 over the game's final 20 minutes, keyed by pinpoint outside shooting. The Sioux nailed five of their first six 3-pointers in the second half, including a pair by senior guard Ervin Youmans (Hobbs, N.M.).
The Sioux shot 58 percent (15-for-26) in the second half, a 14-percent improvement from the first period. Ten of DSU's 15 turnovers also came in the final 20 minutes.
Youmans was the catalyst for UND's offense, complementing his outside shooting with some brilliant drives to the basket in finishing with a team-high 20 points. He finished 7-for-11 from the field and 3-for-6 from beyond the arc, and his trey 5:20 into the second half put the finishing touches on a 13-2 run that put the Sioux up 42-38.
The Blue Hawks would make one final push, shrinking the deficit to five points at 52-47 on a Fred Scheltinga layup midway through the half, but the Sioux responded with another lengthy run, a 15-5 stretch that was again punctuated by a Youmans triple.
It was Youmans' fourth 20-point performance in six games this season. He had one 20-point outing in 24 games all of last season.
Despite the second-half deficit, the Sioux started strong right from the opening tip, racing out to a 9-2 lead with points on each of their first four possessions. Then Emmanuel Little (Sr., Chicago, Ill.) slammed home a Darius Joseph (Jr., Tacoma, Wash.) alley-oop pass to give the Sioux a 14-5 lead just 3:35 into the game.
After a Dickinson State timeout, the Blue Hawks countered with a 9-0 run to tie the game at 14-14.
The Blue Hawks carried much of the play for the remainder of period, behind 18 first-half points from Ervin Benton.
Little finished with 15 points, nine rebounds and three steals in support of Youmans, while Joseph added seven points, all in the second half.
Belton led all players with 22 points, going 7-for-10 from the field.
UND, now 3-3 on the season and undefeated at home, is idle heading traveling to Bismarck to face the University of Mary on Dec. 4.
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