SEATTLE, Wash. -
The University of North Dakota men's basketball team fell to SeattleU, 83-60, on Saturday at the Connolly Center on the Redhawks' campus. Washington native
Darius Joseph (Tacoma, Wash.) returned to his home state and scored 16 of his career-high 19 points in the second half to lead UND in scoring. Senior F
O.J. Harrison (Danville, Ill.) added 13 points for the Sioux.
SeattleU (14-6) has won eight straight on its home court and six straight overall. The loss for the Sioux (11-10) was their third straight setback. Redhawk forward Michael Wright led all scorers with 23 points. Both teams are transitioning from the Division II level to the Division I level this season and will meet again in Grand Forks on Friday, Feb. 27.
Reserve forward Pat Mitchell (Des Moines, Iowa) had 11 points and made his first four shots from the floor and equaled his career-highs for 3-pointers made (3) and field goals made (4) in the contest.
“It was frustrating tonight,” UND head coach Brian Jones said. “We had 20 turnovers to their six and that will get you beat every time. We have to keep working and getting better. We have a lot of basketball left this season against a lot of these same teams we have played lately.”
SeattleU made its first two shots from beyond the arc to build a quick 6-3 lead, but Harrison opened the game scoring UND's first six points to pull the Sioux even at the 16:22 mark.
Mitchell gave UND its first lead of the game with a 3-pointer of his own with 15:37 on the clock. The lead would not last long though as the home team responded with a 17-2 run to build a 23-11 advantage.
Reserve forward Aaron Broussard scored six of those points for the Redhawks during that run as their bench outscored UND's 17-11 in the opening half. Broussard finished with 14 points.
Mitchell ended a 7:30 scoring drought for the Sioux with his second 3-pointer of the game. The Redhawks never relented as they extended their lead to as many as 21 in the first half behind 56.7 percent shooting from the floor, which included a stretch where SeattleU made seven shots in a row.
The Sioux cut the deficit to 39-24 by halftime as the visitors closed the opening 20 minutes on an 8-2 run. Mitchell was perfect from the floor (4-for-4) in the first half, while the rest of Sioux players struggled, connecting on just 5-of-20 attempts.
Joseph pulled UND within 12 by opening the second half with a 3-pointer, but that would be as close as the Sioux would get. The Redhawks made their first nine field goals after the break and scored 21-unanswered points to put the game away.
The Sioux wrap up a four-game road trip on Thursday in Greeley, Colo., when they face Division I-foe Northern Colorado at 7 p.m.
GAME NOTES: This is the weekend that coaching staffs across the country are wearing sneakers to bring awareness and show their support for Coaches vs. Cancer and the American Cancer Society ... Senoir G Darius Joseph (Tacoma, Wash.) scored a career-high 19 points in front of at least 25 family and friends who were in attendance for the game - his hometown of Tacoma is just over 30 miles south of Seattle ... Joseph made two three's in a game for the first time in his career ... Redshirt freshman Pat Mitchell (Des Moines, Iowa) made his first four shots from the floor and equaled his career-high for 3-pointers made and field goals made all in the first half.
