Moscow, Idaho — A poor shooting effort was too much to overcome as the University of North Dakota men's basketball team fell to host Idaho, 63-42, in its opening contest at the Basketball Travelers Classic on Friday at Memorial Gym. The Fighting Sioux shot just 26.3 percent from the floor, while the Vandals made 48.1 percent of their shots in the first meeting between the two clubs on the hardwood.

The Sioux were within two points at 31-29 after a 3-pointer by Mitchell in the opening minute of the second half, but a 12-0 run by Idaho pushed the WAC school out to its first double-digit lead of the game and the home team never relented.

“I thought our effort and intensity was there. We competed for 40 minutes and that is what he we have to hang our hat on,” UND head coach Brian Jones said. “Our offense was working. It was working to get open shots. We just did not have guys step up and make shots. If you are not making open shots, then it is going to be hard to win a ball game.”

Junior Patrick Mitchell (Des Moines, Iowa) led the Sioux offense with 13 points and redshirt freshman Josh Schuler (Urbana, Ohio) added a season-high 10 points in defeat. Mitchell went 3-for-8 from beyond the arc, but the rest of the squad went 2-for-19 from 3-point range as nothing seemed to go UND's way on the Vandals' home court.

The Sioux missed their first seven attempts from beyond the arc before Schuler, who scored all 10 of his point in the first half, sank one from the left wing to end a 9-0 run by the Vandals. 

Idaho would add to its lead, making it as many as nine points in the first half after a 3-pointer by Shawn Henderson, but Mitchell sank a pair of long-distance shots during a 10-2 run that pulled UND within a point at 27-26 with just over two minutes to play. 

The Vandals got back-to-back baskets by Landon Tatum in the closing minute, however, to claim a 31-26 advantage at the break. The Sioux were fortunate to be that close after shooting only 31 percent from the floor, while the Vandals knocked down half of their first-half field goals (13-for-26).

Idaho continued its strong shooting in the second half, making 12-of-26. Point guard Deremy Geiger led the Vandals in scoring with 13 points and had three of his team's four 3-point field goals. Brandon Wiley added 12 points and Luiz Toledo chipped in with 11.

Henderson led all players with 11 rebounds as Idaho held a 43-27 advantage on the boards. Mitchell led the Sioux in that category with seven boards. 

UND will play two more contests in the BTI Classic this weekend. The Sioux will take on Eastern Michigan at 7:30 p.m. CT and wrap up the round-robin tournament on Sunday against Monmouth at 5:30 p.m. CT.

Monmouth defeated Eastern Michigan, 64-63, after making a 3-pointer in the closing seconds of the first game at the Classic earlier on Friday.

– Go Sioux –