By Brian Brashaw
North Dakota brought two men’s basketball teams to the Sapp Fieldhouse and both teams went home with a loss.
UNO defeated North Dakota 85-80 and completed the sweep with a 77-65 win over North Dakota State.
UNO jumped out to an early lead with tough defense in the first half against North Dakota State. The Mavericks scored 42 points in the first 20 minutes while holding the Bison to just 18 points. UNO’s first-half burst included a 22-0 run.
Maverick head coach Kevin McKenna said the early defense from his team was due in part to their success on the offensive end.
“Our intensity defensively was really good, our aggressiveness was at a high level and we played solid defense,” McKenna said. “Plus they missed a couple of shots. When our guys make a couple of shots, their defense improves.”
Three Mavericks scored in double figures. Dan Morrow scored 14 points, Eddie King scored 13 and Adam Wetzel had 11. The Bison were led by Denver TenBroek’s 20 points.
North Dakota entered its game against UNO with a 7-2 NCC record, good enough for second place. The game was even throughout the evening until a one-minute stretch with under three minutes to go that decided the game.
After a Sioux turnover, Eddie King, an 11-percent three-point shooter, drained a three-pointer to put the Mavericks up six, 76-70, with 2:22 to go. Another UND turnover followed and again King hit a three-point shot to make it 79-70 with 1:31 to play.
Seth Nelson led UNO with 19 points, while Morrow, Wetzel and Alvin Mitchell each added 11 points. King finished with 10 points.
With the North Dakota sweep, UNO now has sole possession of second place in the conference, behind South Dakota State, who is in first with a 10-1 NCC record. The Mavericks improved to 17-5 overall and 8-3 in the North Central Conference.
This weekend UNO will travel to Morningside and South Dakota.
