GRAND FORKS, N.D. ? The University of North Dakota men's basketball team posted its largest home win of the season, defeating Mayville State, 82-59, on Monday night at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.
The Fighting Sioux moved to 10-6 while the Comets dropped to 7-12.
Leading 40-34 at the break, the Sioux pulled away in the second half behind strong shooting and defense to secure their seventh-consecutive win at home this season. Junior G Travis Bledsoe (Minneapolis, Minn.) led all scorers with 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the floor as three Sioux finished in double figures.
Bledsoe was joined in double figures by junior F Travis Mertens (Devils Lake, N.D.) and senior F O.J. Harrison (Danville, Ill.), who finished with 14 and 13 points, respectively.
Rajwayne Palmer and Drew Bergerson each led Mayville with 12 points. Palmer's fourth three of the game put the Comets within five at 51-46, but that would be as close as the visitors could get in the second half. A three-pointer by redshirt freshman Mike Mathison (Walhalla, N.D.) ignited a 23-3 run over the next 9:45 to seal the victory for UND.
Mathison, who had just four points in the previous 11 contests for the Sioux, accounted for one of five three's by the Sioux during the run as the team shot 58.3 percent (14-for-24) from the floor after the break.
“Mike (Mathison) hit a big three that really energized our team,” UND head coach Brian Jones said. “Anytime you get a reserve that comes in and makes a big shot - that really gets the team going. That was the knock-out punch for us tonight.”
The Sioux came out in the second half more focused and it showed. The coaching staff addressed two areas that needed to improve at the break and the players were listening. “We wanted to come out in the second half doing a better job of rebounding and taking care of the basketball,” Jones said. “In the first half, we were sloppy on both ends of the floor, but we came out without a lot of energy and emotion in the second half and that was the difference for us tonight."
UND held just an 18-14 advantage on the glass in the first half, but that drastically changed in the second half as the home team outrebounded the Comets 22-8. Mertens led UND with seven rebounds as five different Sioux finished with five or more boards in the contest.
In first-half action, Mayville took its only lead of the game at 9-7 on a jumper by Anton Coleman, but that was short-lived as the Sioux went on a 9-2 spurt over the next 2:52 to build an 18-11 advantage. A running jumper by Mertens gave UND its largest lead of the first half at 22-14 with 10:43 to play, but the Comets withstood the run and pulled even at 27-27 just four minutes later on a three-pointer by Palmer.
Bledsoe led a late charge as the Sioux closed the half by outscoring the Comets 13-7 over the final 6:27. Bledsoe accounted for 10 of those 13 points to help UND take a 40-34 advantage into the locker room.
Bledsoe led all scorers with 13 points in the opening half on 5-of-6 shooting from the floor. Mertens added eight first-half points on 4-of-6 shooting as the Sioux shot at a 53.6 percent clip (15-of-28) in the opening 20 minutes.
UND will be back on its home court as part of a Saturday double-header with the women's team. Both Sioux squads will take on the South Dakota Coyotes with action set to begin with the women's game at 2 p.m.
Game Notes: The Sioux extended their home-winning streak to seven games, the most since the team opened last season with eight straight wins on its home court ... Mertens has reached double figures in five-straight games after posting 10 or more points in just four of UND's first 11 games ... UND connected on 7-of-17 three pointers for the game, including a 5-of-9 effort in the second half.
? Go Sioux ?
