Men's Basketball 12/5/2009 10:00:00 PM Ryan Powell, UND Media Relations

Sioux fall to Drake in consolation game of Hy-Vee Classic

Des Moines, Iowa – The University of North Dakota men's basketball team was defeated by Drake, 72-63, in the consolation game of the Drake Hy-Vee Classic on Saturday at the Knapp Center. The Bulldogs (3-5) used sizeable runs to open each half to take control of the contest and send the Sioux (1-8) to their fourth straight lost.

Drake guard Josh Young led all scorers with 17 points, while freshman forward Aaron Hawley added 16 points.

Senior Travis Mertens (Devils Lake, N.D.) led a quartet of Sioux in double figures with 13 points and was named to the all-tournament team. He added 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season.

Sophomore Patrick Mitchell (Des Moines, Iowa) also posted a double-double for UND, which was the first of his career. Redshirt freshman Spencer Goodman (Jackson, Mo.) scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half and Chris Clausen (Adelaida, Australia) added 11 points to round out the double-figure scorers for UND.

The Sioux trailed by as many as 20 points in the second half, but closed to within six points in the final minutes to make things interesting.

“That is one thing about this team,” UND head coach Brian Jones said. “Our guys are not quitting and playing to the final whistle. We just need some guys to step up and make some shots and we will start pulling out some of these close games.”

UND struggled for the second straight night from 3-point range, making only 6-of-28 attempts from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs were not much better, connecting on only 7-of-26 from deep, but they made up for it at the free throw line making 12 more than the Sioux did, going 29-for-35 in the contest.

Drake opened the contest on a 10-2 run before redshirt freshman Nick Haugen (Rockford, Minn.) connected on a 3-pointer to end a five-minute scoring drought for the Sioux.

The Bulldogs used that opening run and a 13-point effort off the bench by Hawley to build a 37-27 advantage at the break. Drake led by as many as 12 in the opening 20 minutes before the 3-pointers started falling for UND.

After opening the game making just one of their first 10 from beyond the arc, the Sioux went 3-for-5 down the stretch to stay within striking distance. Clausen led UND with eight points off the bench in the first half.

The opening of the second half was nearly identical to the first as Drake went on a 12-2 run again to build its largest lead of the contest at 49-29.

UND would pull back to within 10 points midway through the last stanza, but back-to-back 3-pointers by the Bulldogs pushed the lead back to 16 and all but sealed the win for the home team.
The Sioux would not go away in the closing minutes as a 14-4 run cut their deficit to eight at 63-55 with just over four minutes to play.

A 3-pointer by Mitchell made it a six-point deficit, but that would be as close as UND would get in this one.

Drake held a slight edge in overall rebounds at 37-36, but the Sioux had a season-high 14 offensive boards as Mertens corralled five of those.

The Sioux return home to the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center to face Mayville State at 7 p.m.

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