GRAND FORKS, N.D. — Sophomore Aaron Anderson (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) led the Sioux in scoring for the second straight game as North Dakota dealt future Big Sky foe Idaho State a 63-47 setback Monday at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. Anderson was joined in double figures by classmate Jamal Webb (Buffalo, N.Y.), who added 15 points.

Anderson scored 11 of his game-high 17 points in the first half as UND (2-0) built a 36-23 advantage. Senior Mike Mathison (Walhalla, N.D.) put the home team up by that 13-point margin thanks to burying a 3-pointer as the horn went off.

Mathison's 3-pointer capped a 48 percent (12-for-25) shooting effort from the floor in the opening 20 minutes for the home team.

The Bengals (0-2) made just five field goals in the opening half as a stingy Sioux defense held them to 21.7 percent shooting from the floor. The Sioux overcame some early foul trouble and scored the final seven points of that opening half to build the double-digit lead.

The Bengals shot better in the second half, connecting on 10-of-19 shots (52.6 percent), but could never cut their deficit to single digits. 

“This was a game won on the defensive end,” UND head coach Brian Jones said. “Our guys were dialed in for 40 minutes and we took a step forward as a team tonight. Our bench stepped up again when some of our bigs went down early with fouls and guys hit shots when we needed a good possession.”

Sophomore Troy Huff (Milwaukee, Wis.) was held scoreless in the first half, but he paced the team with eight second-half points. 

The UND defense also forced 20 turnovers and stayed even with the much bigger Bengals on the glass as both teams finished with 32 rebounds. Webb shared game-high rebounding honors at six with Idaho State's Jakub Kusmieruk, who stands 7-foot-4.  

Webb also dished a game-high six assists as the Sioux had 15 of those in the contest.

The Fighting Sioux play their first road game of the season on Saturday at Bradley (7 p.m. CT).

– Go Sioux –