United Tribes holds off late Bismarck State College rally
Josh Dungan Bismarck Tribune
JOSH DUNGAN Bismarck Tribune
Monday's nightcap of a men's-women's basketball doubleheader at James Henry Gymnasium was the rubber match between Bismarck State College and United Tribes Technical College, and fans in attendance were treated to a dandy of a second half between two offensively-minded squads.
Behind a 21-point night from Tahj Two Bulls and a nine-point, nine-rebound, 13-assist performance from DK Middleton, the Thunderbirds did just enough to escape a late Mystics' rally, 89-82.
"We built a big lead in the the second half," United Tribes head coach Pete Conway said. "I think we lost some defensive focus after that. Credit to Bismarck State, they started to knock down shots and they were able to get it going and made us work in the second half to finish this game off."
Offense did not come easily through the first seven minutes of action in the first half, as the teams combined for just 13 points.
Playing without offensive sparkplug Famous Lefthand, United Tribes was shorthanded compared to its 108-92 defeat at BSC's hands in late January. But after giving up 108 points to the Mystics in that January contest, Conway wanted more effort defensively.
He got it in spades Monday night.
"We played (Bismarck State) about two weeks ago and we felt like we didn't come out with enough effort and energy on the defensive end of the floor," Conway said. "We got off to a good start over there and they came right back, and from then on we just traded buckets with them."
"To start the game today, the emphasis was coming out with a lot of energy on that end of the floor. Neither team got out to a good start, but with us struggling offensively, our defense in the first half kept us in it."
"We pressured them well and got under their skin, rattled them in the first half," Two Bulls said. "We need to do that to more teams, rattle them early."
Bismarck State College edged the Thunderbirds out over the final eight minutes of action, 21-20, but that kept United Tribes' sizable lead well intact.
"We knew we needed a gang of guys to step up and score," Conway said. "It was just a good team effort, a good team win. Coming into the game we said we had to contest the three and contain penetration. Bismarck State has some really quick guards that can get into the lane and do some damage."
Halftime didn't slow the Thunderbirds down much. The Mystics got the occasional defensive stop, but United Tribes shot hot from wherever they were on the floor and had a lead as large as 68-46 with more than 11 minutes left in regulation.
"Garrick Baines got it going in the second half, he was the one who kind of sparked them," Conway said.
A lead that was over 20 points was chipped away at, and by the time the clock read 6:30, the Mystics had cut the lead into single digits, 75-66.
United Tribes' offense didn't go away, but they were being pushed by a BSC offense that was taking much cleaner looks and limiting mistakes on both ends of the floor.
Unfortunately for the Mystics, the kinds of mistakes that haunted them throughout the first half came back to bite them at the worst possible time in the second half, thanks to a renewed defensive effort and situational awareness by the Thunderbirds.
The Mystics got within six at 79-73, only for multiple makes both from the floor and the free-throw line pushed the lead back up to 10, 83-73, with less than five minutes left.
"We talked in the locker room that we weren't happy with the last 10 minutes defensively," Conway said. "But when we needed a few big stops at the end of the game, we were able to get them."
But on the possession that could have resulted in a tie or closing the lead to one, Bismarck State coughed up the ball, and the Thunderbirds slammed the door shut.
Four three throws and several empty possessions forced by a swarming effort from the Thunderbirds defensive unit gave United Tribes its 14th win of the season.
Tristin Davis and Jordan Lebeau each contributed 18 points. Lebeau sparked the Thunderbirds off the bench with 16 points in the first half.
United Tribes now prepares for the home stretch of its schedule. The Thunderbirds return to action Thursday with a home game against Lake Region State.
The Mystics attempt to recover from their loss by doing what only the Thunderbirds have managed to do this season: beat the North Dakota State College of Science's men's basketball team. The Mystics tip off a season-ending four-game homestand against the Wildcats at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday.