Lincoln, Neb. — The University of North Dakota men's basketball team fell victim to one of the nation's best defensive teams on Monday as Nebraska dealt the Fighting Sioux a 77-46 setback at the Devaney Center.
The Cornhuskers (11-2), who rank in the top five nationally in scoring defense, won their ninth straight holding UND (5-9) to just 27.6 percent shooting from the floor in the contest.
While the Sioux were having a hard time making shots, Nebraska found its range, shooting 55.4 percent from the floor making 31 field goals compared to just 16 for UND.
UND had three players reach double figures as junior
Patrick Mitchell (Des Moines, Iowa) led the scoring effort with a game-high 14 points. Freshmen
Josh Schuler (Urbana, Ohio) and
Jamal Webb (Buffalo, N.Y.) each added 11 points for the Sioux.
“Our offense executed well, we just did not knock down open shots,” UND head coach
Brian Jones said. “I thought we executed our defense too, but I think their size and strength wore us down and were too much for us tonight.
“They did not take us out of anything we tried to do offensively, which was encouraging. We just struggled with our shots across the board tonight and that makes it hard to win.”
The night actually started well for the Sioux as Mitchell and freshman
Troy Huff (Milwaukee, Wis.) hit back-to-back treys in the early going to help give UND a 9-8 lead, but the Huskers would regroup after the first media timeout and churn out a 9-0 run to take control of the contest.
The deficit remained in single digits for a majority of the half until the home team closed out the first 20 minutes with an 8-2 run to take a 36-20 advantage into the lockerroom.
The Huskers shot 55.2 percent from the floor (16-for-29) while holding the Sioux to just 32 percent shooting (8-for-25) in the opening half. After Mitchell and Huff made those 3-pointers in the opening four minutes, UND would connect on one more the remainder of the half on 10 attempts.
Nebraska's solid shooting continued after the break as the Huskers used a balanced-scoring attack to build on their lead throughout the half. Four Huskers reached double figures, including three reserves as the NU bench outscored UND's 44-4.
Eshaunte Jones and Brandon Ubel led the Huskers with 11 points each, while Jorge Brian Diaz and Andre Almeida each added 10.
The Sioux return home for an entire month as their next six contests will be at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. The first contest is scheduled for Sunday as Longwood visits for a 6 p.m. tip-off.
– Go Sioux –
