GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- Junior guard Estan Tyler forced overtime with a heroic 3-pointer, but Northern Colorado pulled away from North Dakota during the extra session to a register an 88-78 victory in Big Sky men's basketball action Saturday at the Betty Englestad Sioux Center.

Tyler finished with a season-high 21 points for UND (5-11, 1-4 BSC) and made all seven of his field goals in regulation, but UNC's guard combo of Tevin Svihovec and Cameron Michael scored 24 points a piece to lead the Bears (9-7, 4-1 BSC) to their fourth straight win in league play.

"We got off to a slow start, but what got us back in the game was our defense," UND head coach Brian Jones said. "We started sharing the ball in the second half and made some plays there at the end to force overtime.

"Unfortunately, in overtime, we did not guard the ball very well, which led to some easy baskets for them and we missed some easy ones that deflated us." 

The loss was the fourth straight for UND in Big Sky play and third straight down-to-the-wire finish during the squad's three-game league homestand. 

Sophomore Quinton Hooker finished with 14 points and a career-high 10 assists to post the first double-double of his career.

Redshirt freshman Carson Shanks also had 14 points for UND in his first career start.  

After Tyler's 3-pointer tied at 69-69, Hooker stole the in-bounds pass and drew iron with a desperation shot at the buzzer, but UND would go into overtime for the first time since the 2012-13 season.

UNC led by as many as 11 points in the first half and nine in the second half, but the home team would erase both of those deficits with big runs.

Freshman Kraigh Shields capped a 16-4 run in the opening half with his first collegiate field goal, giving UND a 27-26 advantage.  

Svihovech, who was held scoreless for the first 16 minutes of the contest, scored the final six points of the first half, allowing the Bears to get the advantage back and go into the break with a 34-31 lead.

The Bears would open the second half with a quick 6-0 spurt to push their lead to 40-31, but UND answered with eight straight to get back in the contest.

Tyler would make 1-of-2 free throws at the 12:05 mark to tie the score at 42-42 and from there it was a back-and-forth affair with both teams coming up with timely shots

After Hooker put his squad up 56-55 with just over six minutes to play, the Bears appeared to regain control thanks to a 7-0 run that included a contested jumper by Jordan Wilson, 3-pointer by Michael and layup by Svihovec.

UND responded once again, this time drawing even at 64-64 on a one-handed dunk by Shanks.

Svihovec proved to be a tough guard all night though as he made two tough layups down the stretch to put his team up 68-66. Hooker would get a chance to tie things up, but could not convert a driving attempt.

The Bears would make the front end of a one-and-one to make it a 69-66 contest. Dominique Lee would miss the back end though, but Tim Huskisson was able to grab the loose ball forcing UND to foul again with 11 seconds to play.

Wilson would be short on his first attempt and Huskisson would be called for a lane violation, setting up Tyler's heroics.

Tyler went 4-for-5 from beyond the arc with his only missing coming in overtime that saw the Bears jump out to a 78-71 lead and never trail as they went 4-for-5 from the field and made all 10 free throws.

Huskisson opened the scoring in overtime with his third 3-pointer of the game and finished with 19 points off the Bears' bench. He also helped his squad hold a 34-27 edge on the glass. Svihovec added nine rebounds and seven assists. 

UNC finished the game with a 50.8 percent clip from the floor, while UND shot 43.3 percent. Both teams fared well at the foul line where the Bears went 20-for-26 and UND went 18-for-22.

UND will hit the road next week for a pair of Big Sky tilts starting at league newcomer Idaho. The contest vs. the Vandals is set for Thursday at 9 p.m. CT.

-- UND --