Idaho State men's basketball coach Bill Evans didn't want to blame one play.
"I think we lost the game way before the last couple of minutes," Evans said. "We lost because we didn't rebound the ball and had 23 turnovers. One call doesn't win or lose this game ... but I'll take the fifth on that call."
Evans might not want to talk about a late charge call, but it went a long way in determining the outcome of UND's 66-62 win over the Bengals in Big Sky Conference play Thursday night at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.
With four seconds to go and UND clinging to a two-point lead, Idaho State's Andre Hatchett was called for a charge on the right wing as defender Jamal Webb fell to the court. Hatchett shot as he hit Webb and made it, but the potential game-tying basket was waved off as the foul occurred prior to the shot.
The Bengals bench, as well as Hatchett, couldn't believe the charge call.
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With 2.2 seconds remaining, UND's Cole Stefan was fouled and hit both free throws for the final margin.
UND improved to 2-1 in the Big Sky and 5-8 overall, while the Bengals dropped to 5-7 and 2-1.
"There was some adversity there, but I was proud of our guys" UND coach Brian Jones said. "This was a great conference game for our team and our fans to understand how much better our league is this year."
Idaho State finished last in the Big Sky a year ago but started this year 2-0 in the league after impressive wins over Portland State and Eastern Washington.
"That's a huge win for us," UND's Jaron Nash said. "This should help us down the road. It should give us confidence knowing how good we can be."
Idaho State led by as many as eight in the first half before UND charged back behind a revved-up defensive effort. The Bengals finished with 23 turnovers. UND turned those turnovers into 26 points.
But the Bengals wouldn't go away even when UND senior forward Troy Huff took over and scored eight straight points in less than two minutes midway through the second half to build a 12-point cushion.
Huff finished with just 12 points, but his sequence in transition midway through the second half energized North Dakota, which led 55-43 with 7:15 to play.
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Idaho State whittled that lead down to 62-59 on a Chris Hansen 3-pointer with 1:38 to play. Later, Tomas Sanchez hit a trey to bring the Bengals within a point at 63-62 with 17 seconds left.
But after Huff made one of two attempts from the line with 16.2 seconds to go, putting UND up 64-62, Hatchett was whistled for the charge, which put the brakes on the comeback.
UND was led by Nash's 21 points on 10-of-16 shooting and eight rebounds. Huff finished with 12 points and nine rebounds, while Josh Schuler chipped in 10 points.
UND senior guard Aaron Anderson, a regular in the starting lineup, came off the bench against the Bengals. He finished with one point and four assists in 21 minutes.
UND was just 4-for-20 from 3-point range.
Idaho State, meanwhile, was on target from long distance. The Bengals were 7-for-15 on 3-pointers, thanks to a 6-for-11 showing by Chris Hansen, who ended with a team-high 24 points.
"We knew coming in that he was a catch-and-shoot guy," Stefan said of Hansen. "Give him any space, and he's going to let it go. He did that tonight. He's a good player, and I look forward to playing him again."
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