Green Bay, Wis. — The Fighting Sioux men's basketball fell victim to another late charge as Green Bay overcame a 12-point second half deficit to secure a 72-68 victory over North Dakota on Monday at the Resch Center. This one, however, was much closer than the previous two meetings that Green Bay had won by an average of 32 points thanks to a trio of Sioux freshman that reached double figures.

Redshirt Josh Schuler (Urbana, Ohio) scored a game-high 22 points for UND (4-8) and true freshman Troy Huff (Milwaukee, Wis.) and Jamal Webb (Buffalo, N.Y.) added 14 and 11 points, respectively, but their efforts were trumped by a gutty second half performance from Green Bay seniors Rahmon Fletcher and Bryquis Perine as the Phoenix (5-7) rallied to beat the Sioux for the third straight year. 

Fletcher and Perine combined for 25 second-half points after being held to just four in the opening 20 minutes to lead the Green Bay comeback. The veteran backcourt did not do it alone though as those two were flanked by the strong play of freshman center Alec Brown, who led Green Bay in scoring with 19 points and set the school's single game record for blocks with eight.

As many games do, this one came down to the free throw line and the Phoenix was more efficient than the Sioux, knocking down 30-of-39 from the stripe, including a 21-of-27 effort in the second half. UND struggled for the second straight game on freebies, hitting just 50 percent of its tosses in the contest (11-of-22).

“I am never going to fault our effort,” UND head coach Brian Jones said. “This team cares about one another and we have made huge strides, but for the second straight game it came down to free throws and layups. In the second half, we fouled them early and put them in the bonus and they stepped up and made them. 

“That is really the only way they scored in the halfcourt and we had trouble making free throws again for the second game in a row and it cost us a chance here tonight.”

The Sioux trailed 13-8 with 12:53 on the clock, but the freshmen duo of Aaron Anderson (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) and Huff went to work to spark a 16-2 run that spanned nearly six minutes.

Anderson found Huff on the baseline, who threw down a two-handed dunk to start the flurry. After another dunk from junior Patrick Mitchell (Des Moines, Iowa), Anderson buried a 3-pointer from the corner to give UND its first lead of the contest at 15-13.

Schuler contributed five of the next seven points and Huff capped the run with his second dunk of the half following a ball steal to put UND ahead 24-15.

UND's lead would grow to as large as 10 and that is the cushion the visitors would take into the locker room after Schuler drilled his third trey of the half and Webb sank a pair of free throws in the final minute.

Webb surpassed his season-high in assists in the opening 20 minutes as he dished out six of the team's 10, while the UND defense forced 10 Green Bay turnovers. He finished with a game-high nine assists. Schuler made all five of his first-half shots to score 13 points and Huff added 10 to pace the offense.

Redshirt freshman Brandon Brekke (East Grand Forks, Minn.) scored the first four points after intermission for the Sioux and made all four of his shots from the floor to finish with a career-high eight points.

Each of Brekke's baskets in the second half put the Sioux ahead by 12 points, their largest lead of the game, but Green Bay would take advantage of a Sioux scoring lull midway through the second half to claw its way back into the contest.

“We came out strong again in the second half, which is something we have been stressing,” Jones added. “But, we hit another lull there between the 16-minute and eight-minute mark that we need to cut down. It was a tough loss, but I'm excited about things as we head into Great West play after the Christmas break.”

Schuler put the Sioux ahead 52-44 with a jumper from the elbow with just over 12 minutes to play, but an 8-0 run by Green Bay quickly tied the score and the teams would go back and forth over the next several minutes before Daniel Turner gave the Phoenix its first lead since early in the first half with a pair of free throws at 60-58.

After Webb made it a 61-60 contest with 3:57 to play on a pair of free throws, Perine would score the next four points for the home team and that five-point cushion would allow enough breathing room for Green Bay to hold on for the win.

Schuler connected on a 3-pointer with 14 seconds left to put a brief scare into the Phoenix, cutting the Sioux deficit to just three, but that would be as close as the visitors would get down the stretch.

The Sioux outshot the Phoenix from the field, 47 percent (25-for-53) to 43 percent (19-for-43) and held a 32-30 edge in rebounding. Schuler went 8-for-12 from the floor, including a 5-for-6 effort from beyond the arc. His 22 points were the most by a UND player this season. Huff, who started for the first time in his career, has scored in double figures in three consecutive contests.

UND is off until December 30th when they return home to entertain South Dakota School of Mines with tip-off slated for 7 p.m. at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.

  

– Go Sioux –