GRAND FORKS, N.D. ? Five Fighting Sioux reached double figures as the University of North Dakota's men basketball team defeated U-Mary, 84-78, in overtime at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center on Tuesday. The victory was the second-straight overtime win for the Sioux on their home court.
Senior G Daniel Harkins (Portage, Wis.) led all scorers with 25 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the floor and a 9-for-10 effort from the free throw line. Senior F Wes Porter (Arvada, Colo.) added a career-high 12 points for the Sioux, who improved to 9-6 with the victory. U-Mary falls to 3-11 with the loss.
“Anytime you win in that fashion it is going to be exciting,” UND head coach Brian Jones said. “We are finding ways to win. It is not always pretty, but we are getting the job done.”
The Sioux jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead, but U-Mary answered with a 13-3 run that gave the visitors their largest lead of the game at 13-7.
The Marauders' lead was short-lived though as the home team reeled off a 13-2 run thanks to precision shooting from the floor. UND connected on five-consecutive field goals during the stretch that lasted 5:47 after missing three of its first four attempts from the field.
UND continued its stellar shooting from the floor for the remainder of the half as the team shot 65 percent (13-for-20) during the opening 20 minutes. The sharp-shooting led to a 36-31 lead at the break as U-Mary cut the lead to five points with a three-pointer at the buzzer by center Ben Cruickshank. The Sioux finished the contest shooting 58.3 percent from the floor.
Harkins led the Sioux in the opening half with 11 of his game-high 25 points. His 11 first-half points included a four-point play after draining a three-pointer and making the subsequent free throw.
U-Mary charged out of the locker-room to quickly tie the game at 36-36 with five straight points until a Harkins' lay-up gave the Sioux the lead back at 38-36. That sparked a 6-1 run to put the home team back ahead by five, 42-37.
UND built at least a five-point lead on four more occasions in what became a back-and-forth game in the second half.
Geoff West, the Marauders' leading scorer entering the contest, was held off the scoreboard in the first half, but had five-consecutive points early in the second half to pull U-Mary even at 44-44 with 13:25 to play.
However, redshirt freshman F Pat Mitchell (Des Moines, Iowa) drained a three from the top of the key on the home team's next possession to give the Sioux the lead right back. Mitchell nailed another three just over a minute later to extend the UND lead to 52-47.
The Marauders pulled ahead for the first time since early in the game on a lay-up by West that gave the visitors a 58-56 advantage with 5:24 on the clock.
Porter ended a three-plus minute scoring drought for the Sioux with a lay-up and senior G Darius Joseph (Tacoma, Wash.) followed with another easy bucket to put UND back up by two with just over four minutes play.
Joseph had seven of his nine points in the final 10 minutes of regulation and was lauded by Jones for his strong play down the stretch. “Darius came up huge there at the end of the game for us,” Jones said. “He was aggressive and made some big shots for us on the offensive end.”
Two free throws by West evened the score again for U-Mary at 60-60, but the Sioux went on a spurt over the next two minutes as a three-point play by Harkins with 1:43 remaining gave UND its largest lead of the second half at 67-61.
U-Mary had some life left though as West continued his strong second-half play draining a three to make it a one-possession game with just under a minute of play. UND turned the ball over with 26 ticks on the clock giving U-Mary one last chance in regulation and West's brother Jason hit a three of his own with :03.3 remaining to tie the game at 67-67.
A potential game-winning three by UND senior F O.J. Harrison (Danville, Ill.) came up short at the buzzer to send the game into overtime.
The Sioux came out recharged for the overtime session building a quick 72-67 advantage on a lay-up by Harkins and a three-point play by Porter.
“We had the game won in regulation, but let them back in it,” Jones said. “That 5-0 run to start overtime really kind of separated us and allowed the guys to put the game away.”
Harkins led the team with seven points in the extra session, while junior Travis Mertens F (Devils Lake, N.D.) had five of his 11 points in extra time. Mitchell added 11 points and Harrison had 10 to round out the five Sioux in double figures.
Geoff West finished with 20 points after the break to lead the Marauders. Jordan Wilhelm added 14 points and Jason West chipped in with 13 points.
UND will continue its four-game homestand next Monday, Jan. 19, with a tilt against Mayville State at 7 p.m.
GAME NOTES:
Senior G Daniel Harkins posted his fifth-consecutive game in double figures with a game-high 25 points ... Redshirt freshman Pat Mitchell reached double figures for the first time since scoring 12 against Valley City State on Dec. 20 ... The second overtime game of the season marked the 27th time in school history that the Sioux have played multiple overtime games in a campaign ... This marks the first time since the 1982-83 season that UND has played in and won back-to-back home overtime games.
