VERMILLION, S.D. - The University of North Dakota men's basketball team dropped its second-straight contest to South Dakota this season, falling 86-75 to the Coyotes on Saturday at the DakotaDome. A trio of Sioux guards led a fervent comeback attempt by the Sioux in the second half, but a 21-point halftime deficit was to much to overcome for the visitors.
Daniel Harkins (Portage, Wis.), Darius Joseph (Tacoma, Wash.) and Travis Bledsoe (Minneapolis) each scored in double figures for UND after the break. Harkins had 10 of his 18 points after halftime, while Joseph had 11 of his 15 and Bledsoe had 14 of his 17.
Senior F O.J. Harrison (Danville, Ill.) had a career-high 14 rebounds to lead a much improved rebounding effort for the Sioux. In their last meeting, the Coyotes outrebounded UND 38-18, but held a slim 45-43 advantage in this contest.
“That second half, that is who we are as a basketball team and that is how we play the game,” UND head coach Brian Jones said. “I am not conceding anything because we lost, but I was proud of the way we stuck with it and made a run at them in the second half.”
Trailing 48-27 at halftime, the Sioux sqaud opened the second half on a 12-2 spurt that cut the Coyotes' lead to 11 at 50-39. Harkins and Bledsoe made back-to-back three's during the run that spanned the first 4:39 of the half.
After making 19 field goals in the first half (34 attempts), the Coyotes came out struggling from the floor, making just two field goals in the opening 11 minutes after halftime. The Sioux shot much better in the second half. Bledsoe connected on four of his five three's, which equaled a season high, after intermission.
The Sioux kept clawing away during that span, pulling within five at 57-52 following a 9-0 run. Joseph and Harkins both had two lay-ups during that span.
That would be as close as the valiant comeback effort would get the Sioux as the Coyotes went back ahead by double figures after a 6-0 run with close to eight minutes left on the clock.
A late push had UND within seven points in the final minute, but USD scored the final four points of the game to cap off the 11-point victory.
The Coyotes opened the game making 5-of-6 from behind the arc and finished the first half with six 3-pointers to build a big lead at the break. USD senior Jesse Becker made four of those three-pointers to score 21 first-half points, while senior forward Tyler Cain added 14. Becker finished with a career-high 31 points in the contest.
For UND, Harkins and junior F Travis Mertens (Devils Lake, N.D.) each had eight first-half points for the Sioux. Those two combined to make 8-of-12 field goals, while the rest of the Sioux managed to make just 4-of-20 shots from the floor in the opening 20 minutes.
UND stays on the road for its next three games, including a Tuesday night tilt at Southwest Minnesota State. Tip-off for that contest is slated for 7 p.m.
GAME NOTES: With his five three's in the game, junior G Travis Bledsoe (Minneapolis, Minn.) moved into ninth positon on the UND career list for three-pointers made with 114 ... Bledsoe went 5-for-10 from deep to equal his season high for trey's made ... He was tied for 10th with Hunter Berg (1998-99) entering the contest with 109 career conversions from beyond the arc ... Bledsoe made his third start of the season and first since the Dec. 17 victory over Dickinson State ... The five-foot-10 guard also had a career-high six rebounds, with four of those coming on the offensive end ... Senior F O.J. Harrison had a career-high 14 rebounds, including 11 on the defensive boards - his previous best was eight ... Harrison also added a career-high four assists ...The Sioux corralled a season-high 43 rebounds in all, including a season-high 17 offensive rebounds.
