MBB Game Notes: Sioux open New Year with four-game road trip

Men's Basketball 1/14/2010 11:00:00 PM UND Athletics Media Relations

Bledsoe leads Sioux to a 67-62 victory over Utah Valley in Great West opener

Orem, Utah – Senior guard Travis Bledsoe (Minneapolis, Minn.) scored a career-high 28 points as the University of North Dakota men's basketball team was triumphant in its Great West Conference opener, posting a 67-62 victory over Utah Valley on Thursday.

Bledsoe went both 9-for-11 from the field and from the free throw line in the contest to post his new career-high. Bledsoe's effort at the line sealed the win for the Sioux (3-14, 1-0 Great West), who went 19-for-23 from the stripe. Utah Valley falls to 7-9 overall and 1-1 in league play.

Redshirt freshman Doug Archer (Conception Junction, Mo.) also came up big for UND by scoring four points in the final minute, including a key jumper from the corner and sinking a pair of free throws to thwart any chances of a UVU comeback. Archer finished with a season-high eight points.

“Our guys had a great week of preparation and we really stressed that this was the beginning of a new season,” UND head coach Brian Jones said. “Everybody contributed tonight and really played their hearts out. This is a great start for us.”

The Sioux opened the game with Bledsoe scoring the first six points to keep them close in the first four minutes of game action. Sophomore Patrick Mitchell (Des Moines, Iowa) then scored UND's next five off the bench as his first bucket gave the visitors their first lead of the game at 8-7.

After a Mitchell 3-pointer, senior Travis Mertens (Devils Lake, N.D.) threw down an emphatic dunk that put UND ahead 15-9, but back-to-back treys by the Wolverines got them right back in it.

UVU trailed by two when Bledsoe drilled a 3-pointer and junior Derek Benter (Crosby, N.D.) made a lay-up to stretch the UND lead to its largest margin at seven points with just over five minutes to play.

The home team had an answer though and eventually claimed the lead back when Swarbrick hit a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer to put UVU up 35-33. Swarbrick's second trey of the half gave the Wolverines their first lead since holding a 7-6 advantage in the opening minutes.

Bledsoe led all scorers with 17 points in the opening 20 minutes as he went 7-for-9 from the field, helping the Sioux shoot 66.7 percent from the floor as a team (14-for-21). However, it was long-range shooting that gave the Wolverines the lead at the break as they knocked down six 3-pointers (14 attempts).

Reserve guard Eric Dearden scored seven straight for UVU in the opening minutes of the second half to give the Wolverines their largest lead of the game at 42-37. The Sioux would not back down though.

They pulled back to within one after Mitchell and Mertens scored back-to-back buckets.

The teams continued to go back-and-forth for a majority of the second half before Bledsoe and company seized control of the game in the closing minutes.

Bledsoe cashed in on a 3-point play the old-fashioned way to put UND ahead 50-48 with eight minutes to play and UND never trailed again.

UND would build its advantage to 56-50 as the Wolverines went without a field goal for more than four minutes before Chris Claitt converted a 3-point play after being fouled on a lay-up.

Redshirt freshman Spencer Goodman (Jackson, Mo.) scored back-to-back baskets on a breakaway dunk and a lay-up to keep the Sioux in the lead.

UVU had cut its deficit to 58-55 before Archer drilled an 18-footer from the right corner to all but seal the win for UND. Bledsoe also helped that cause by going 7-for-8 from the charity stripe down the stretch.

The Wolverines went cold in the second half, making just 2-of-11 attempts from the 3-point territory after going 6-for-14 in the opening 20 minutes.

Goodman scored nine points and had a career-high six rebounds as UND held a 33-25 advantage on the boards.

The Sioux remain away from Grand Forks to close out a season long four-game road trip on Saturday at South Dakota. Tip-off with the Coyotes is scheduled for 8 p.m. CT.

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