Box score
GRAND FORKS, ND—Sophomore big man Patrick Mitchell scored a career-best 33 points and tied the North Dakota school record with 10 three-point baskets for the Fighting Sioux in a 90-78 Great West Conference win over visiting NJIT Tuesday afternoon in the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.
Mitchell, who had never made more than four three-pointers in a game or scored more than 17 points, was unstoppable all day, making 10 of his 13 tries from distance. He shot 5-for-7 on three-pointers in the first half and five-for-six in the second half, including one at the final buzzer that lifted him into the UND record books.
With Mitchell leading the way, the Fighting Sioux connected on 16 of their 25 tries from beyond the arc. They also shot 30-for-36 on free throws (83 percent) and scored 14 of their 16 points at the foul line from the 6:21 mark to the 1:03 mark to stave off NJIT's late rally.
Senior Travis Bledsoe made three threes and shot 11-for-13 on free throws for 20 points and Travis Mertens added 11 points, as North Dakota upped its overall record to 8-18 and its conference mark to 5-3.
NJIT (8-16, 3-4 Great West) got 25 points from freshman Chris Flores, who shot 6-for-8 on threes in the second half for 20 points. The 25 points matched his career-high, which he first achieved at Wagner on December 28.
Junior Jheryl Wilson, who helped keep NJIT reasonably close with 13 first-half points, finished with 19 points, while Sammy Schickel came off the Highlanders bench for 10 points.
Freshman PJ Miller matched his career high with six assists and scored nine points, his highest total against a Division I opponent.
Flores also led the NJIT rebounds with five, while Nick Haugen had a game-high seven rebounds for the winners.
Things began well for NJIT, which gave up a Bledsoe three-pointer to open the scoring, but then reeled off eight unanswered points for an 8-3 lead.
However, the Highlanders hit a lull and, with the Fighting Sioux hitting six threes—four by Mitchell, the home team went on a 26-3 run, turning an 8-3 deficit into a 29-11 lead from 16:46 to 8:18.
That run put NJIT in a hole it never escaped, despite some pushes in both halves. Indeed, the Highlanders trimmed the 18-point deficit down to eight and trailed, 36-28, when Flores made a couple of free throws with 3:19 left in the half.
Mitchell drilled yet another trey on the next possession and the Fighting Sioux got their lead back up to 16 before settling for a 44-31 halftime advantage. Mitchell had 18 points and Bledsoe had 11 for North Dakota, while NJIT's Wilson scored 13 points.
The Highlanders got their deficit to single digits four times in the second half, closing to within nine, 57-48, on a traditional three-point play by Isaiah Wilkerson with 14:01 left and again at 80-71, when Flores banked in a triple at 2:35.
Later, Wilson hit two free throws to close to within eight points at 1:15 and Sammy Schickel's three pulled NJIT to 85-78 with 1:07 remaining.
Tuesday's game was a makeup of a game that had been scheduled for February 11 but was postponed due to the snow that cancelled most flights out of Newark Liberty International Airport on the 10th.
As a result, NJIT and North Dakota will play again quickly, with the Fighting Sioux coming to Newark for a game on Saturday at 4 pm in the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center.
The Highlanders, who will return to Newark on Wednesday morning, will host Great West Conference-leading South Dakota on Thursday at 7 pm in the Prudential Center.
