MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.--With several past Fighting Sioux standouts in attendance at the Target Center, UND's present continued to look bright as the Sioux used a dominant second-half performance to secure a 10th straight victory, 70-52 over Bemidji State.
Buoyed by senior forward Emmanuel Little's (Chicago, Ill.) second double-double in his last three games, UND used its athleticsm and balance to turn a five-point haltime lead into a comfortable 18-point victory.
The win improved UND's record to 10-3 heading into Saturday's tilt at Iowa State.
Little, who led all players with 18 points and 11 rebounds, proved to be particularly hard for the Beavers to contain. The reigning NCC Co-Player of the Week, Little scored 10 of his points on powerful dunks, including a one-handed, baseline effort on a give-and-go with Darius Joseph (Jr., Tacoma, Wash.) that gave the Sioux a 40-33 lead with 15:32 remaining.
Sophomore guard Travis Bledsoe, playing in his hometown, followed with a three-pointer just over a minute later to stretch the lead to 10, then Little found O.J. Harrison (Jr., Danville, Ill.) on a fast break and Harrison powered home a dunk of his own to make it 45-33 with 13:44 left on the clock.
That 7-0 run effectively put the game away for the Sioux, who shot 50 percent from the field in the second half, thanks largely to seven dunks. UND's second-half performance was a significant improvement from the opening 20 minutes when the Sioux shot 37.5 percent from the field, UND's lowest first-half output of the season.
Despite the shooting struggles, UND appeared to be on its way to a comfortable halftime lead after holding the Beavers to just 17 points with three minutes remaining. But BSU's Brady Fairbanks scored four points and Kyle Scott went to end to end for a layup at the buzzer to make it a 28-23 UND lead heading into the locker room.
Scott would draw the Beavers to within four early in the second half, but UND would never relinquish the lead, holding Bemidji State to 32 percent from the field, the worst performance by a Sioux opponent this season.
In addition to his double-double, Little added four assists and matched his career high with four steals.
He was aided by 15 points from Bledsoe and 11 from Harrison, both of whom came off the bench to provide a boost to the Sioux offense.
Notes: Scott Guldseth, UND's all-time scoring leader who starred for the Sioux from 1989 to 1993, was one of several former UND standouts in attendance. Others included Tom Jacobson (1997-01), Mike Johnson (2001-05), Hunter Reinke (1996-00) and Marcus Travis (1996-00).
###
