The UND men’s basketball team is familiar with life on the road. Since its lone home game on Nov. 18, the Green and White have played the last four games away from the Betty, with another three to go before the team experiences the comfort of home again.

The results have been mixed so far this season, with some good moments, such as those against South Dakota State and Alabama State.

While the game against the Jackrabbits resulted in a loss, 74-72, the team played well but let SDSU come back from a 15-point deficit.

“We let this one slip away,” UND coach Brian Jones said. “In those first four minutes of the second half, I don’t think we competed like we did in the first half. We got back on our heels and let them get back in it. Our guys played hard and battled, but if we make some free throws in the second half, we win that game.”

The Green and White would not make the same mistake twice when it came to playing Alabama State. Jaron Nash led the way with a team-high 22 points, which sparked the 75-68 victory.

Though UND has played some solid basketball at times, the team has shown some growing pains.

Against Utah and University of Texas Pan America, UND struggled in almost every facet of the game, which resulted in lopsided victories for the other two schools.

UND shot a low 31 percent in the game against Utah, only scoring 53 points in the game. While UND had a tough time on offense, the team also struggled on defense, especially in the second half.

Utah scored 53 points in the second half, resulting in a 90-53 loss for the Green and White.

The game against Texas Pan America was better, but not by much.

Defense would become an issue yet again. While the game was tight at half, with UND leading 31-29 at the break, Texas Pan America would go off for 49 points in the second half. UND could not keep up with that scoring pace, and lost 78-60.

“We let our inability to get baskets on the offensive end affect our defense and that is disappointing,” Jones said. “In the second half, we came out and could not get any stops … This team has to figure that out and understand that you have to defend consistently and not just do it with energy when your shots are falling.”

UND will have the opportunity to clinch its second road win of the season this weekend. The Green and White face Drake University on Saturday, a team that has struggled mightily in the early moments of the season. The Bulldogs are 2-6 so far this year. Every one of Drake’s losses this year have come in blowout fashion, as teams are beating the Bulldogs on an average of 15.8 points a game.

One of the main questions this season was who is going to step up as UND’s leading scorer. Jaron Nash has taken on that duty at the start of the season. The forward is averaging 14.7 points a game with 8.8 rebounds a game. In the first six games, Nash has also had three double-doubles, in points and rebounds. The Green and White will need his production in order to secure a victory against Drake on Saturday.

Any time a team loses a majority of its leaders, the next season is going to have its growing pains. There have been some positive signs, but at 2-4, UND will continue to work at playing better basketball in the upcoming weeks.

Alex Stadnik is a staff writer for The Dakota Student. He can be reached at [email protected].