Sioux stumble at Houston Baptist in Great West play

Men's Basketball Ryan Powell, UND Media Relations

Sioux stumble at Houston Baptist in Great West play

HOUSTON – The University of North Dakota men's basketball team fell to Houston Baptist, 75-65, in Great West Conference play on Saturday at Sharp Gynasium. Senior Travis Bledsoe (Minneapolis, Minn.) scored a game-high 25 points for the Sioux (4-17, 2-3 GWC), but a 15-0 run by the Huskies (4-16, 3-1 GWC) to start the second half created to big of a hole for the visitors to overcome.

HBU's Anthony Gonzalez paced his team with 24 points and went 13-for-14 from the free throw line. Miles Dixon added 17 points and hit two big 3-pointers during that spurt to start the second half for the home team.

“We did a good job of getting back into the game late after they came out with that big run to start the second half,” UND head coach Brian Jones said. “Some of the shots that were falling for us in the first half did not when we could have gotten that deficit even closer, but I'm proud of the effort because we could have easily hung our heads.”

Sophomore Patrick Mitchell (Des Moines, Iowa) posted his second double-double of the season for the Sioux with 13 points and 10 rebounds. His game-high 10 rebounds also equaled his career-high in that category. Redshirt freshman Nick Haugen (Rockford, Minn.) added 11 points off the bench for UND.

Bledsoe opened the game with a 15-foot jumper, but the Huskies responded to that bucket with a 10-2 run to build a comfortable lead in the opening four minutes of play. HBU would hold that lead the remainder of the half as it hovered around 10 points for most of the opening 20 minutes.

The Sioux used long-range shooting to keep them in the game early on, but the up-tempo style of play by the Huskies caused fits throughout the first half. UND had pulled to within four points at 22-18 midway through the half, but the Huskies would push their cushion back to double-digits with a 15-6 run.

After falling behind by 14, the Sioux were able to get their deficit back to single digits at the close of half when Monsebroten converted a 3-point play with only a second remaining on the clock.

Gonzalez led HBU with 12 points in the half, while Bledsoe had 11 for the Sioux, who connected on 5-of-11 attempts from 3-point territory. That quickly changed in the opening minutes of the second half as HBU opened it with that game-altering run on the strength of two corner three's by Dixon to stretch its lead to 56-32.

Bledsoe snapped the spurt with a put back off his own missed jumper and the Sioux would stage a big run of their own over the next five minutes. 

Mitchell and Bledsoe sparked the 16-2 run to make it a 60-50 contest with just over nine minutes left on the clock, but the teams would play even the rest of the way, scoring 15 points apiece.

The Sioux would get within nine points on three occasions in the closing minutes, but could never get any closer as the Huskies sealed the win on the free throw line. HBU went 28-for-40 (70 percent) for the game, while the Sioux went 10-for-17 (58.8 percent).

UND slumped after the break from beyond the arc, connecting on only 2-of-13 of those attempts. Bledsoe finished 9-for-19 from the field to post his fourth 20-plus scoring game in five league tilts.

The Sioux take a break from Great West play when they return to action next Sunday for a contest at SIU-Edwardsville. Tip-off with the Cougars is set for 1 p.m.
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Players Mentioned

Travis Bledsoe

#13 Travis Bledsoe

G
6' 0"
Senior
Nick Haugen

#2 Nick Haugen

G
6' 2"
Redshirt Freshman
Patrick Mitchell

#45 Patrick Mitchell

G
6' 8"
Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Travis Bledsoe

#13 Travis Bledsoe

6' 0"
Senior
G
Nick Haugen

#2 Nick Haugen

6' 2"
Redshirt Freshman
G
Patrick Mitchell

#45 Patrick Mitchell

6' 8"
Sophomore
G