GRAND FORKS, N.D.--Junior guard Travis Bledsoe banked in a three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Fighting Sioux a 67-66 win over Valley City State tonight at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center, as the Sioux rallied from seven points down in the final 25 seconds.
Bledsoe's clutch shot capped a wild final minute of play that saw a likely Sioux loss turn into a one-point victory.
When VCSU's Mike Stowman knocked down a 3-pointer from the left corner with 41 seconds left on the clock, it gave the Vikings a seemingly safe 66-59 lead.
But Sioux were able to begin chipping away at the deficit on their next possesion.
Derek Benter (So., Crosby, N.D.) corralled an errant O.J. Harrison (Jr., Danville, Ill.) 3-point try and was fouled on the attempted put-back. Benter promptly hit both of his free throws to draw UND to within 66-61.
After the Vikings' inbounded the ball, the Sioux fouled Orlando Anderson and sent him to the line. However, Anderson missed the front end of the bonus shots and UND's Daniel Harkins (Sr., Portage, Wis.) was fouled on his way to the basket with 17 seconds left. Harkins hit just one of two free throws, making it a 66-62 game.
VCSU's Anderson was then fouled again, and again missed his bonus shot from the line, setting up what appeared to be UND's final gasp at an an improbable comeback. Stowman was whistled for a hard foul on Harrison, which sent the Sioux junior the the line, but Harrison missed both free throws and the Vikings still led by four with seven seconds left.
On UND's ensuing inbounds pass, Harkins drove to the basket and converted a layup with 4.7 seconds left to make it a 66-64 game. On the Vikings' inbounds attempt, Zac Wolff attempted a deep lob into Sioux territory, but overshot his target and threw the ball out of bounds with 3.5 seconds showing on the clock.
UND's first attempted inbounds was deflected out of bounds by the Vikings, knocking 1.3 seconds off the clock, but giving the Sioux another try from just shy of midcourt. With one final gasp, Harkins inbounded the ball to Travis Mertens (Jr., Devils Lake, N.D.) and Mertens found Bledsoe at the right wing. Bledsoe released a contested shot with two-tenths of a second showing on the clock, and banked it off the glass for the stunning game-winner.
UND, which trailed by three at the half and by as many as nine in the second half, managed to improve to 5-3 on the season despite 22 turnovers and no starter shooting better than 50 percent from the field.
Harrison, who was the only Sioux player without a turnover, scored a game-high 16 points. Redshirt freshman Pat Mitchell (Des Moines, Iowa) came off the bench with 12 points, while Bledsoe and Mertens each added 10.
Mertens also added a team-high eight rebounds, as the Sioux managed a 36-28 edge on the boards.
Wolff and Stowman each scored 11 points for the Vikings, with Stowman going 3-for-4 from 3-point range, including a perfect 3-for-3 in the second half. Reserve Demetrius Young provided 13 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
UND will return to action on Saturday when the Sioux host Jamestown at 2 p.m.
