GRAND FORKS, N.D. - Seattle defeated the University of North Dakota, 76-59, to claim the Spring Thaw Men's Championship on Sunday evening at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. Forward Mike Boxley scored 15 points for the Redhawks and was named the tournament's most outstanding player.
The Redhawks (21-8) snapped a five-game winning streak for the Sioux who finished their season 16-12 overall and 12-3 at the Betty. Junior G Travis Bledsoe (Minneapolis, Minn.) led the Sioux with 16 points, while junior F Travis Mertens (Devils Lake, N.D.) added 15 points and was named to the all-tournament team.
The contest marked the final one for a quartet of Sioux seniors, who UND head coach Brian Jones said set the standard for future Division I teams at the university. “This team got to play with four special young men,” Jones said. “These guys worked their tails off all season and I know the juniors, sophomores and freshmen were all paying attention to how hard they worked.”
That senior foursome included guards Daniel Harkins (Portage, Wis.) and Darius Joseph (Tacoma, Wash.) along with forwards O.J. Harrison (Danville, Ill.) and Wes Porter (Arvada, Colo.).
The Sioux got off to a slow start offensively, making just one of their first 10 shots from the floor and the Redhawks took advantage of the early drought to race out to a 13-3 lead.
Bledsoe ended the drought with a 3-pointer at the 11:06 mark from the top of the key that sparked a 9-2 run for the Sioux. UND's first four field goals in the half all were from beyond the arc as Porter also connected on a trey during the spurt that pulled UND to within three at 15-12.
After the slow start, the Sioux closed the half making 10-of-15 from the floor to get back in the contest. Bledsoe led that effort going 5-for-6 on field goals with 14 points in the first half.
“We just didn't come out with the same energy that we had in the previous five games,” Jones said about the game. “Last night's win over South Dakota took a lot out of us, but give Seattle credit they played really and got the job done.
Bledsoe pulled UND even at 24-24 with 3:05 remaining after draining his third 3-pointer of the opening half. However, the Redhawks went on a quick 7-2 spurt to push the lead back to five. After Bledsoe drilled his fourth trey of the half with 35 seconds remaining, Aaron Broussard answered with a 3-pointer for Seattle in the closing ticks that gave the visitors a 34-29 edge at the break.
Broussard led a 57.6 percent field goal shooting effort for the Redhawks in the first half by making all four of his attempts for a team-high 10 points. The true freshman made his first-career start after senior forward Michael Wright was injured during the Redhawks' opening-round win over SIU Edwardsville on Saturday.
A 3-pointer by Harrison made it a six-point contest with 13:12 to play, but Seattle answered with a 7-0 run that gave the Redhawks their largest lead of the game at 52-39.
The UND shooting woes came back in the second half as the Sioux made just four field goals in the first 12 minutes after the break. That allowed Seattle to extend its lead to 18 at the 7:35 mark of the half and all but secure the championship. UND managed to shoot just 41.7 percent from the field in the game and only 39.1 percent after the break.
The Redhawks continued to shoot the ball well and finished the game making 58.7 percent of their shots (27-for-46). Broussard finished with a game-high 18 points and earned a spot on the all-tournament team along with teammate Chris Gweth, who finished with 15 points.
GAME NOTES: Junior F Travis Mertens (Devils Lake, N.D.) entered the Spring Thaw Tournament shooting just 45.6 percent from the free throw line, but in the two tournament games went a perfect 9-for-9 from the charity stripe ... Mertens finished the championship game 15 points - one shy of his season and career-high ... Senior G Daniel Harkins had six points in his final game for the Green and White and finished the campaign as UND's leading scorer (14.0 ppg, 391 points) ... With four 3-pointers in the game, junior G Travis Bledsoe (Minneapolis, Minn.) moved into sole possession of eighth place on the UND career list for trey's made with 126.
