GRAND FORKS, N.D. - Junior F Travis Mertens sank two free throws with four seconds remaining on the clock to lift the University of North Dakota men's basketball team to 68-66 victory over South Dakota in the opening round of the Spring Thaw Tournament at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.

Mertens, who finished with 14 points, entered the game shooting just 45.6 percent from the free throw line on the season, but calmly made four straight in the final 36 seconds to put UND in the championship game against Seattle. The Redhawks beat SIU Edwardsville, 78-71,in the afternoon game to reach the finals.

This was the second-straight season the Sioux (17-11), who have won a season-best five straight, defeated the Coyotes (19-9) in postseason play after dropping a pair of regular-season contests to them. It was also the first win at home for UND over USD since the 2004 season. The Coyotes had won four straight against the Sioux at the Betty.

“This is one of the most memorable wins for us as a program since I have been here,” UND head coach Brian Jones said. “Being able to beat USD on our home floor was huge. That has been something hard to do here of late and it is a great feeling for our guys - this senior class had never beaten USD in this gym.”

Jones' four seniors were big reason the Sioux overcame a five-point halftime deficit. Guard Daniel Harkins (Portage, Wis.) scored 14 of his team-high 18 points after the break and Darius Joseph (Tacoma, Wash.) had seven of his 10 points during an 11-2 run that gave UND its first lead of the game in the closing minutes. Joseph also had a game-high six assists.

Redshirt freshman F Pat Mitchell (Des Moines, Iowa) kept UND in it in the first half, scoring 13 of his career-high 15 points as he was the fourth Sioux to reach double figures.

The Coyotes pushed their lead out to nine in the opening three minutes of the second half and it would take nine minutes, but UND chipped away to completely erase that deficit.

Mitchell gave the crowd a jolt when he slammed home an alley-oop from Joseph with 15:04 on the clock. The Sioux deficit remained within the six to nine-point range though for several minutes before Harkins pulled the Sioux to within four points at 48-44. He made four-straight free throws on consecutive possessions with just over 11 minutes to play in the game.

The Sioux had it back to a one-possession game after a steal and lay-up by Joseph. After Gentry answered with a bucket on the other end, Joseph made it 53-51 contest with a 3-pointer at the 8:50 mark.

The Coyotes turned the ball over on their next possession and UND pulled even at 53-53 on a lay-up by Mertens with 8:02 on the clock. USD failed to score on its next trip and Joseph was fouled attempting a rebound. That put the Sioux in the bonus, but Joseph missed the front end of a one-and-one.

Joseph made amends for that miss and gave UND its first lead of the game at 55-53 by sinking a pair of free throws at the 6:25 mark. Joseph had seven points during the 11-2 run that put UND back ahead.

“One thing I can say about our team is we do not give up,” Jones added. “(USD) came down and hit some big shots late, but our guys responded and made big plays of our own. As a program, this is the time of year you want to be playing your best basketball and having a championship to play for tomorrow says a lot about just how well this team has come together.”

Dylan Grimsley, who led the Coyotes with 20 points, put USD back on top with a 3-pointer that snapped a four-minute scoring drought for USD, but Harkins quickly answered by drilling a trey from the top of the key to put the Sioux back on top 58-56.

Grimsley and Harkins went back-and-forth for a couple of possessions, as the Coyote senior responded again, draining another long 3-pointer. However, Harkins had the final answer as his driving lay-up with 4:21 to play put UND ahead 60-59.

After Grimsley missed a 3-pointer, Mertens came down and sank a jumper from the free throw line to give UND a 62-59 advantage.

USD's Tyler Cain cut the deficit to one with a lay-up, but missed a chance at three-point play. Mertens once again came through with a hustle play as his put back had UND back on top 64-61.

Cain made a lay-up to make the score 64-63, while the Sioux ran the shot clock down but missed a jumper with a minute to play. USD's Jesse Becker was fouled on the top of the key, which put the Coyotes in the bonus, but he missed the front end as well. However, the loose ball went out on UND giving USD the ball back with 51.3 seconds to play.

Grimsley missed a 3-pointer off an inbounds play and Mertens grabbed the rebound and was fouled on the play. He made both free throws to put UND back on top 66-63. The Coyotes had an answer once again though as Gentry tied the game up at 66-66 with a three from the corner.

UND came down the floor with only seconds remaining and it was Mertens, who once again came up with a big play. He corralled the loose ball off a miss by Joseph and was fouled on the put back and calmly went to the line and sank both attempts to give UND the lead 68-66.

The Coyotes got a good look as Becker had an open three from the left wing, but his shot fell short and the Sioux avenged two regular-season losses to USD. Becker, who had been a Fighting Sioux nemesis throughout his career, went 0-for-7 from 3-point range in the game.

Rebounding was once again instrumental in the victory for UND as the Sioux held a 37-34 advantage on the glass. Senior O.J. Harrison (Danville, Ill.) led the team with nine boards, while Harkins followed with eight as the Sioux improved to 13-0 when holding an edge in that category.

A barrage of 3-pointers in the early going allowed South Dakota to build a double-digit lead mid way through the first half. The Coyotes connected on six shots from beyond the arc in the opening 10 minutes of the half.

UND withstood that flury thanks in large part to Mitchell, who connected on a trio of 3-pointers of his own in the first half.

The Coyotes took their largest lead of the half at 31-18 on a 3-pointer by Louie Krogman with 5:39 remaining on the clock. That would be the last 3-pointer the Coyotes would hit as the Sioux would score the next eight points over the next four-plus minutes to cut their deficit to five.

Mitchell had a putback to cap the run, which gave him a new career-high with 13 points in the opening 20 minutes. A basket by Roman Gentry put USD back up by seven at 33-26, but Harrison answered with a pair of free throws in the closing minute to make it a five-point game at the half.

USD seemingly lived behind the 3-point line in the first half as 22 of its 31 field goal attempts. The Coyotes made seven, but only of their last nine.

Mitchell made three of UND's field goals before the break as the team managed just nine (18 attempts). UND did make 10 trips to the free-throw line where the Soiux converted seven of those tries.

North Dakota will now face Seattle in the championship game schedule to 7 p.m. Sunday evening at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. Playing in the consolation game will be South Dakota and SIU Edwardsville. That game is scheduled for 5 p.m.

GAME NOTES: The Sioux have won five straight for the first time since last season when UND reeled off 10 straight wins early in the campaign ... Redshirt freshman F Pat Mitchell (Des Moines, Iowa) scored a career-high 15 points - 13 of those came in the first half ... Senior F O.J. Harrison (Danville, Ill.) saw his streak of three straight double-doubles come to a close, but he led the team in rebounding for the fourth-straight contest ... He finished with eight points and nine rebounds ... The Sioux improved to 13-0 when they outrebound their opponents (37-34) ... This was the second straight year UND defeated USD by two points in the postseason ... Last year's victory was in the quarterfinals of the NCC Tournament in a game the Sioux won 78-76.

-GoSioux!-