Happy homecoming awaits Mitchell in Des Moines

Men's Basketball 11/14/2009 12:00:00 AM Ryan Powell, UND Media Relations

Sioux drop season opener to Montana, 61-37

Missoula, Mont. – The University of North Dakota men's basketball team dropped its season opener to Montana, 61-37, on Friday in opening round action of the Karl Tyler Cheverolet Grizzly Basketball Classic. The host Griz put the game away in the second half with a barrage of 3-pointers as the home team hit nine from beyond the arc after the break.

Montana (1-0) led just 24-22 at halftime, but outscored the Sioux (0-1) 37-13 in the second half to give the Big Sky team a victory for the second straight season over UND.

Sophomore Patrick Mitchell (Des Moines, Iowa) led UND with 15 points on 5-for-9 shooting from the field, while UM senior guard Anthony Johnson led all scorers with 20 points.

The teams went back-and-forth in the opening eight minutes before Mitchell put the Sioux ahead at 9-7 on a 3-pointer and Mike Mathison (Walhalla, N.D.) pushed the lead five as UND made its first four trey's of the game.

The Sioux held a 17-11 advantage when Mertens scored his first points of the season on a jumper in the paint at the 9:07 mark, but the Griz responded with a 9-0 run to grab their first lead since Johnson opened the game with a 3-pointer.

Montana built a five-point advantage as UND went through an eight-minute stretch without a field goal until Mitchell connected on his fourth 3-pointer of the half. Mitchell went 4-for-4 from deep as the Sioux went 5-for-10 from beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes.

Johnson had 16 points for the Griz in the opening half, going 6-for-8 from the field, while his teammates made just 3-of-15 attempts.

UND continued to struggle from the field at the opening of the second half and trailed by as many as nine after a 3-pointer by Jack McGillis, but the Sioux finally found their touch and reeled off five quick points to cut the deficit to 35-31 with 11:03 to play.

That would be as close as the Sioux would get as the Griz hit six 3-pointers over the next seven minutes to push their lead to 53-35. Senior guard Ryan Staudacher hit a trio of 3-pointers in that stretch after being held scoreless in the first half.

The Griz would add a couple of more long shots in the closing minutes to push the lead out to the final margin of 24 points. The Sioux made just seven field goals in each half and shot 32.6 percent from the floor in the game.

Staudacher was the only other player in the game in double figures as he scored 11. UND senior Travis Bledsoe (Minneapolis, Minn.) played 14 minutes in a reserve role and scored seven points on 3-for-4 shooting.

Senior guard Dustin Monsebroten (Newfolden, Minn.), Mitchell and redshirt freshman Doug Archer (Conception Junction, Mo.) all made their first collegiate starts in the game.

Boise State defeated Loyola Marymount, 90-87, in the first game of the Classic.

The Sioux will return to action on Saturday against Loyola Marymount in the second day of the Karl Tyler Chevrolet Grizzly Classic. UND and Lions will tip at 7 p.m. CT.

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Players Mentioned

Travis Bledsoe: G; 5' 10"; Freshman

Mike Mathison: C; 6' 9"; Freshman

Patrick Mitchell: F; 6' 7"; Freshman

Dustin Monsebroten: G; 6' 0"; Junior

#33 Doug Archer: F/C; 6' 7"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

Travis Bledsoe
: 5' 10"; Freshman
: G

Mike Mathison
: 6' 9"; Freshman
: C

Patrick Mitchell
: 6' 7"; Freshman
: F

Dustin Monsebroten
: 6' 0"; Junior
: G

#33 Doug Archer
: 6' 7"; Freshman
: F/C