EDWARDSVILLE, ILL. - Senior F O.J. Harrison (Danville, Ill.) collected his third straight double-double, this time doing so in his home state, to help propel the University of North Dakota men's basketball team to 72-68 victory over SIU Edwardsville at the Vadalabene Center on Sunday afternoon.
Harrison scored 19 points and a grabbed a career-high 18 rebounds to lead the Sioux to their fourth-straight win - the longest such streak of the campaign. The victory also clinched a winning season for UND and the first of third-year head coach Brian Jones' career as the squad improved to 15-11. SIUE dropped to 10-18 on the season as both teams are transitioning to the Division I level this season.
“I am really proud of our guys for the way we are playing down the stretch of this first season in DI,” Jones said. “This was a big win for us. It gives us a sweep over an opponent, which is hard to come by these days and it also guarantees us a winning season.”
Junior F Travis Mertens (Devils Lake, N.D.) also had a big game for the Sioux, scoring 14 points and dishing out a career-high five assists. Mertens and Harrison were joined in double figures by junior G Travis Bledsoe (Minneapolis, Minn.) and senior G Daniel Harkins (Portage, Wis.).
Bledsoe scored 12 points, while Harkins added 11 points and a career-high seven assists. Harrison helped the Sioux outrebound their fourth-straight opponent as the club held a 38-35 advantage on the glass.
Leading 38-35 at the break, the Sioux scored the first four points of the second half as the Cougars went scoreless for the opening 3:20 of the second half. The seven-point advantage would be the largest of the second half as the home team mounted a formidable comeback.
The UND lead was seven again with 12:09 to play on a putback by senior F Wes Porter (Arvada, Colo.), but the Cougars would hold the Sioux without a field goal over the next 5:22 to take their first lead after the break on a lay-up by Barry Wellington.
“I tell you what, all of our guys are really playing well, but this senior class knows their time is coming and it is showing out on their on the court,” Jones added. “We are getting contributions from all of them and these young guys see that and it will only help this program.”
Mertens made his first field goal of the second half on UND's next possession to give the Sioux the lead right back at 56-55. SIUE would go back on top after a pair of free throws by Mark Yelovich, who led the Cougars in scoring with 17 points.
After Bledsoe made two free throws for the Sioux, Harrison came down and drained a key 3-pointer to put UND back ahead by four, 61-57, with 5:23 on the clock. It was the first trey of the half for the Sioux.
The Cougars had an answer though as they came right back after a timeout and made a 3-pointer of their own. However, Harrison converted a fast break lay-up and Porter saw his first 3-point attempt of the game fall in to extend the UND lead to 66-60 with 2:40 remaining.
SIUE still had some fight left in them as Aamir McCleary cut the deficit in half with a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 1:30 on the clock. SIUE forward Nikola Bundalo then sank one of two free throws following a Sioux turnover to put the home team within a pair of points at 66-64 with 36 seconds to play in the game.
The Cougars had no choice but to foul and senior G Darius Joseph (Tacoma, Wash.) drained both free throws to build the advantage back to four. Bledsoe pulled down a big rebound on the Cougars' next trip and was fouled on the play. The team's best free throw shooter then went down and made two to put the Sioux back up by six at 70-64.
The Cougars still had a chance as McCleary was fouled on a driving lay-up and could have made it a one possession game, but his free throw rimmed out and Mertens grabbed the loose ball with 13 seconds. Mertens sank one of his two free throws to secure the victory.
In the opening half, the Cougars jumped out to 5-0 lead after making their first two shots of the game, but back-to-back treys by the Sioux gave UND its first lead of the game at 6-5.
UND extended that run to 8-0 on a lay-up by Harkins as the teams went back-and-forth for the opening five minutes with the Sioux holding a 10-9 advantage.
UND would take a seven-point cushion thanks to a 6-0 run over the next three minutes and that advantage would grow to as large as nine points at 22-13 with 9:45 to play before the Cougars mounted their first-half comeback.
A quick 8-2 run pulled SIUE to within three points and the Cougars would eventually regain the lead at 32-31 on a tip-in by Bundalo off a missed free throw with 2:18 to play. The teams would trade buckets in the final two minutes before a three-point play by Harrison with 23 ticks on the clock gave UND the lead back at 38-35.
That would be the score as the horn sounded as it was a different first-half performance by the Sioux compared to the first meeting with the Cougars on Feb. 19. UND trailed by eight and scored 21 points, shooting just 25 percent from the floor in a game it would eventually comeback to win 76-68.
Mertens and Harrison were difference makers for the Sioux in the first half as they both scored 11 points. Mertens also had a career-high five assists in the opening 20 minutes and Harkins added four, while the Sioux assisted on 13 of their 16 first-half field goals.
The Sioux will conclude their first season in Division I by holding an Independent Tournament next weekend at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. The Spring Thaw will feature UND, SIUE, Seattle U and South Dakota.
GAME NOTES: Senior F O.J. Harrison (Danville, Ill.) played in front of around 20 family members and friends on Sunday, who made the three-hour trek from his hometown in the middle of Illinois ... With Harrison's return to his home state, the quartet of seniors on this year's Sioux squad all have had the chance to play games in states where they went through high school ... Harrison had his fourth double-figure rebounding effort of the season and third straight with a career-high 19 boards ... Junior F Travis Mertens (Devils Lake, N.D.) reached double figures for the first time in the six contests, finishing with a 14 points and a career-high five assists ... Senior G Daniel Harkins (Portage, Wis.) also had a career-high seven assists in the contest ... The Sioux improved to 12-0 when they outrebound an opponent.
