RUSTON, La. – A trio of timely 3-pointers by Louisiana Tech lifted the Bulldogs past North Dakota 58-53 in non-conference men's basketball action on Thursday at the Thomas Assembly Center. The UND defense held the home team to just three makes on its first 17 attempts from beyond the arc, but the Bulldogs (12-14) made their final three count as they rallied from an eight-point deficit in the second half to post the victory.

Sophomore Aaron Anderson (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) led UND with 14 points, while senior Patrick Mitchell (Des Moines, Iowa) added 12 for the Fighting Sioux (11-14). 

Freshman Raheem Appleby scored 17 of his game-high 19 points in the second half and teammate Brandon Gibson added 10, including the final eight of a 13-4 run that propelled the home team back in the lead late in the second half. Gibson knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to make it a 48-47 contest with just over six minutes to play. 

It was the first lead since early in the first half for LA Tech, but it was short-lived as Anderson answered with a triple of his own for UND. The teams would exchange leads two more times before Appleby put the home team in front to stay with a 10-foot floater, capping a stretch of four consecutive made baskets by the Bulldogs.

The Sioux could only must one free throw in the final three and a half minutes of play as the squad could not capitalize on a gutty defensive effort. The visitors held LA Tech to just a 36.5 percent field goal clip and outrebounded the home team 40-31. 

“That was our best defensive effort of the season,” UND head coach Brian Jones said. “Anytime you hold a team to 58 points on the road, you put yourself in position to win a game.  We just fell a little short, but that is how I want us to be playing in March. If we continue to defend like that and stay dialed in, then we are going to win some games down the stretch.”

Sophomore Troy Huff (Milwaukee, Wis.) rounded out a trio of double-figure scores for UND with 10 points. Classmate Brandon Brekke (East Grand Forks, Minn.) added eight points on 4-of-6 shooting, but he was saddled with foul trouble throughout.

UND held a 1-0 before the ball was even tipped after LA Tech was assessed a technical foul for dunking during pregame warm-ups. Anderson only made one of two from the stripe, however.

UND was whistled for six team fouls in the opening four minutes of play, but a 2-for-10 start from the field by the home team never allowed those to become a factor. Brekke picked up two in the first two minutes of play as he went to the bench after scoring two quick buckets inside.

The Sioux led by as many as six in the first half at 18-12 following a Mitchell 3-pointer and went to the break with a 25-20 advantage thanks to some stingy defense. The 20 points equaled the fewest allowed by UND this season in the opening half (vs. Jamestown, Nov. 30).

Mitchell made the only two trifectas of the half for UND (10 attempts) as he made both he fired up to finish with seven points and six rebounds. UND finished the game just 4-for-23 from distance (17.4 percent).

The defense limited the Bulldogs to seven first-half field goals (24 attempts; 29.2 percent) and forced two shot-clock violations. Neither team shot free throws well in the opening 20 minutes as UND went just 7-for-12 (58.3 percent), while the Bulldogs, who made five of their first six, missed their last four freebies to finish 5-for-10.

– UND –