Men's Basketball 11/29/2009 7:00:00 PM UND Athletics Media Relations

Green Bay uses hot-shooting first half to sink Sioux, 67-41

GRAND FORKS, N.D. – The University of North Dakota men's basketball team fell to Green Bay, 67-41, on Sunday afternoon at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. Green Bay guard Troy Cotton scored 20 of his game-high 22 points in the first half, while fellow guard Rahmon Fletcher added 19 points points to pace the Phoenix.

“(Troy) Cotton is a phenomenal player and we just could not slow him down early in the first half and that cost us,” UND head coach Brian Jones said. “I thought we came out and played better in the second half, just could not make any shots and you have to make the open looks if you are going to beat a team like Green Bay.”

UND junior Derek Benter (Crosby, N.D.) led the Sioux with nine points, while redshirt freshman Spencer Goodman contributed eight points and personal-highs of four rebounds and four assists. The Sioux shot just 30.4 percent for the game (14-for-46), while Cotton and the Phoenix shot 43.8 percent (21-for-48).

Cotton hit a trio of 3-pointers in the opening four minutes that gave the Phoenix a quick 11-4 lead. He buried his sixth 3-pointer of the half to push the Green Bay lead to 24-12 with 7:04 to play. Cotton would score 20 of the first 24 points for the visitors on 7-for-9 shooting from the floor (6-for-8, 3-pointers) in the opening half. He finished the game making 8-of-13 shots.

The rest of the Phoenix squad managed just a 4-for-12 effort in the first half, but Cotton's output was enough to give his team a comfortable 15-point lead at the break.

UND junior Chris Clausen (Adelaide, Australia) hit the first 3-pointer of the game for the Sioux at the 6:30 mark to pull the home team within nine points. The Sioux could manage only a 3-pointer by Benter the rest of the half.

Cotton and the Phoenix cooled off from the floor in the second stanza, but UND could not pull closer than 13 after Travis Mertens (Devils Lake, N.D.) scored the opening bucket of the half.

The Sioux defense clamped down on Cotton, holding him scoreless for the first 16 minutes after the break, but Fletcher picked up the scoring slack scoring 12 of his 19 points in the second half.

UND had more open looks in the second half and took better care of the basketball, but could knock down only 6-of-25 shots, including a 2-for-12 effort from beyond the arc. Green Bay grabbed most of those rebounds, however, claiming a 26-12 advantage on the boards after the break. The teams each had 12 a piece in the first half.

Mertens led the Sioux in rebounding for the seventh straight game with five boards.

The Sioux will take part in the Drake Hy-Vee Classic next weekend in Des Moines, Iowa. UND will open the two-day event vs. Texas-Arlington on Friday at 2 p.m. The Sioux will face either SIU-Edwardsville or the host Bulldogs on Saturday.