Ponte Buggianese, Italy – The North Dakota men's basketball team overcame a seven-point halftime deficit to post a 91-79 victory over LSU Atletas Lithuania and remain unbeaten on its European Tour. Junior Quinton Hooker led a quartet of players in double figures with 22 points and JUCO-transfer Corey Baldwin had his best game of the tour, scoring 19 points and getting seven steals on the defensive end.
Hooker is averaging 21.3 ppg in the three contests and has led the team in scoring each time out in Europe. Baldwin went 8-for-12 from the floor and had 11 points in a decisive third quarter that propelled UND to the victory.
“I thought we really started well, but in that second quarter we did not defend the way we are capable of or the way we have on this trip,” UND head coach Brian Jones said. “Give a lot of credit to Lithuania. They are an extremely talented team that shoots the ball well and does a good job with their system.
“We came out in the second half and got the lead back and got the momentum of the game because of our defense. A lot of that was Corey Baldwin. He was very good in the third quarter getting some steals that led to easy baskets.”
Drick Bernstine added 17 points and a team-high nine rebounds and Geno Crandall had 12 points to go with a game-high nine assists as that duo rounded out of the team's double-digit scorers.
The first half was a back-and-forth affair as both teams put together big runs. UND had the first one, surging ahead with a 14-2 run that gave them an 18-7 lead midway through the first quarter. Atletas would start trimming the deficit late in the first quarter and started the second on an 8-2 run that pulled them within a point.
A 10-2 run by the Lithuanians to close half provided them with a 45-38 edge at the break. Baldwin would get his team right back in the game early in the third quarter with his defense. The Bridgeport, Conn., native would get two steals that led to a pair of one-handed dunks and UND would go onto shoot 13-for-22 from the field in the stanza.
UND's lead would grow to double figures early in the fourth quarter and that is where it would remain until the final horn sounded. The 91 points were the most by the team on the tour so far.
Scorers: Hooker (22), Baldwin (19), Bernstine (17), Crandall (12), Carson Shanks (8), Dustin Hobaugh (6), Conner Avants (5) and Cortez Seales (4).
-- UND --
