Men's Basketball 11/27/2009 5:00:00 PM Ryan Powell, UND Media Relations

Late rally comes up short as Sioux fall to Northern Colorado, 70-63

GRAND FORKS, N.D. – A late rally by the Fighting Sioux fell short as Northern Colorado defeated North Dakota, 70-63, in a meeting of former North Central Conference rivals Friday at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.

The Bears (6-0), now a member of the Big Sky Conference, remained unbeaten as they fended off a late comeback attempt by the Fighting Sioux (1-5), dealing UND a loss for the second straight season.

The Sioux trailed 62-45 with 5:56 to play, but used a 15-3 run to cut their deficit to five points with 55 seconds remaining. Senior guard Dustin Monsebroten (Newfolden, Minn.) sparked the run with four late points, but UNC guard Will Figures drained six free throws in the closing 1:05 to seal the win for the visiting Bears.

"Our effort is where I want it to be, we just have to find a way to win some of these close games," UND head coach Brian Jones said. "This team has a lot of fight in it and no one said this transition was going to be easy, but I am proud of the character this team has. Everyone saw today that this team will not quit."

Figures led all scorers with 16 points, while senior wing Travis Mertens (Devils Lake, N.D.) led the Sioux with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Mertens' double-double was his first of the season and second of his career.

Sophomore wing Patrick Mitchell (Des Moines, Iowa) had nine points in his return to the UND line-up after missing the previous two games with an ankle injury.

Both teams went on nice runs in the opening four minutes of the contest. Goodman put the Sioux ahead 2-0 on a putback, but the Bears reeled off the next eight points to build a six-point cushion. UND responded with a 7-0 run to regain the lead at 9-8.

That would be one of three leads the Sioux would hold in the contest that saw both teams answer runs by their opposition nearly all the way to the end with the last response by UND coming up just short.

With the scored tied at 12-12, the Bears scurried out on a 12-3 run, capped by a Chris Kaba 3-pointer that put the visitors ahead 24-15 at the midway point of the first half. UNC's lead would hover around that margin for the next three minutes until the Sioux closed out the half on a 15-5 run over the final 6:44.

A 3-pointer by junior Chris Clausen (Adelaida, Australia) at the first-half buzzer capped that run, sending the teams to their respective lockerrooms tied at 34-34.

Clausen's second 3-pointer of the half gave UND a solid 5-for-11 effort from behind the arc in the opening 20 minutes. The Bears were equal to the task, however, also making five 3-pointers (10 attempts).

Junior Derek Benter (Crosby, N.D) made a one-hand jumper to give UND the first lead of the second half, but unfortunately that would be the only advantage the Sioux would hold after the break. Benter's basket would be the only one the Sioux would score in the first six minutes as UNC took advantage to build a 42-36 lead.

Redshirt freshman Jordan Allard (Fargo, N.D.) snapped the drought with the first 3-pointer of his career from the right wing to pull the Sioux back to within three (42-39) at the 13:56 mark.

That would be as close as UND would get as UNC went on a 9-1 run to build a double-digit advantage. The Bears' lead grew to as much as 17 late in the contest, but UND's late run could only get the home team within four points.

The Sioux cooled off in the second half from 3-point range, making only 3-of-16 attempts, while UNC abandoned its outside attack and focused on getting the ball inside to Taylor Montgomery, who had seven of his nine points after the break.

Montgomery went 3-for-5 from the floor as the Bears went 9-for-18 from the floor in the second 20 minutes. They only attempted five 3-pointers, making two.

Mertens equaled his career-high with those 10 rebounds as the Sioux held a 30-26 advantage on the glass. Figures made 12-of-15 from the free-throw line and junior Devon Beitzel, who added 14 points for the Bears, went 9-for-10. UNC made 14 more free throws than UND, but also had 21 more attempts (25-for-38).

Allard finished with a season-high eight points for the Sioux, while Clausen matched that total scoring all of his points in the first half.

UND will close out its four-game homestand against Green Bay on Sunday at 4 p.m.

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