Moscow, Idaho — The Fighting Sioux men's basketball team pulled out a 54-49 victory over Eastern Michigan thanks to a hot start from the field and clutch free-throw shooting late in second day action at the Basketball Travelers Classic. UND scored 21 of its 27 second-half points from the charity stripe as the Sioux led throughout the contest on a neutral court at the University of Idaho's War Memorial Gym.  

The victory snapped a three-game losing streak for UND (3-4), while the Eagles, who won 17 contests a season ago, dropped their fourth straight. 

Freshman Troy Huff (Milwaukee, Wis.) led the Sioux in scoring with 11 points off the bench, while junior Patrick Mitchell (Des Moines, Iowa) added 10 points to reach double figures for the second straight game in Idaho.

“I thought we really gutted that one out,” UND head coach Brian Jones said. “We told our guys tonight would be a battle of wills and that is what happens with these tournaments where you play three games in three days. Our guys did a tremendous job with that and tonight it was all about toughness. That was a great team win.” 

UND raced out to a 13-2 lead on the strength of a trio of 3-pointers in the opening four minutes of action. The Green and White would build that lead to 19-7 after making eight of its first nine shots from the floor. 

Mitchell had seven points in the opening seven minutes of the contest as EMU struggled from the floor in the early going. The struggles continued for the Eagles, but they managed to chip away at their 12-point deficit as the Sioux cooled off from the floor.

Senior big man Brandon Bowdry did most of his 20-point damage in the first half as he helped EMU pull to within five points at the break. Bowdry had 13 in those opening 20 minutes as the Eagles cut a 10-point deficit at the two-minute mark down to 27-22 by the time the halftime buzzer sounded.

After the sizzling start, the Sioux managed just three more field goals the rest of the half and that is the total they would make in the second half. Fortunately, EMU put UND in a bonus situation just over eight minutes into the second half. 

EMU would come all the way back and tie the game twice late, but redshirt freshman Josh Schuler (Urbana, Ohio) broke the first tie with a pair of freebies and Mitchell would do the same after Bowdry tied it up at 47-47 with 1:23 to play.

The Sioux would take advantage of their trips to the foul line despite just a 2-for-6 start to the half. UND would make 16 straight at one point and finish the contest making 19 of their final 20 attempts to seal the victory.

 

UND also won the battle on the glass in the second half, outrebounding the Eagles, 20-13 after the break. Huff led that category as well with a season-high nine boards, while sophomore Spencer Goodman (Jackson, Mo.) added seven boards to go with a season-high nine points.

UND shot just 29.8 percent from the floor, going 6-for-38 after that 8-for-9 start in the opening seven minutes. EMU made 19-of-50 from the floor to shoot 38 percent, but the Eagles turned it over 18 times and went just 7-for-11 from the foul line.

The Sioux will wrap up action at the BTI Classic on Sunday against Monmouth at 5:30 p.m. CT.