FORT MYERS, Fla. – The North Dakota men's basketball team dropped a 79-69 decision to Youngstown State in its final game of the Hilton Garden Inn FGCU Classic on Monday at Alico Arena.

Junior Quinton Hooker finished with a team-high 24 points and 10 rebounds to register the third double-double of his career, but it was the Penguins, who came away victorious thanks to the play of big man Bobba Hain. He finished with a game-high 29 points on 12-of-17 shooting from the floor.

“We allowed our offense, missing open shots and turning the ball over, to dictate how we played on the other end in the first half. That cost us,” UND head coach Brian Jones said. “We had 10 turnovers in the first half and did not value the basketball like we wanted to going up against a zone like theirs.”

After winning their opener in the three-game tournament Friday against Bowling Green, the Fighting Hawks (2-3) lost two straight, while the Penguins (1-4) picked up their first win of the young season.

Freshman Cortez Seales added 18 points for UND and a season-high eight rebounds, but every time the Fighting Hawks would make a run to get back into the game, Youngstown State would have an answer.

UND fell behind early in the contest after Youngstown State built a 19-6 lead in the game's opening seven minutes. That deficit was due in large part to a slow start from the field as the Fighting Hawks missed their first six attempts from beyond the arc.

UND was able to trim that deficit back down to six thanks to an 8-1 run midway through the first half, but the Penguins stayed hot from the field and would not relinquish their lead thanks to a 15-for-26 effort from the floor.

YSU pushed its advantage to double figures again at 28-16 with just under five minutes to play in the half, but the Fighting Hawks would close the half with what proved to be their best five-minute stretch to whittle that lead down to three.

UND finally found the range from deep when Adam McDermott connected on a 3-pointer and was fouled. He converted the rare 4-point play that brought UND within five at 29-24.

The true freshman would sink another 3-pointer a minute later to cap quick 9-2 run by UND that put the Fighting Hawks within three at 32-29. The teams traded baskets down the stretch and the Penguins' lead would stand at 34-31 going into the break.

Youngstown State took the momentum back right away to start the second half, scoring the first six points and would extend their advantage to 55-37 just six minutes into the stanza. That would be too big of a hole for UND to climb out of, but it was not for a lack of effort.

“I can't fault our effort,” Jones added. “We had a few lapses there, but that is one thing about this team, it is not going to quit.”

UND reeled off a 10-2 run that got the Fighting Hawks within 10 points again at the 8:46 mark, but YSU scored five quick points to reestablish control with a 14-4 stretch over the next four minutes. The Penguins lead would quickly grow to its peak at 71-51.

Hooker led a late UND flurry, scoring 11 points in the final five minutes as UND got within eight in the closing minute. Hooker's 10 rebounds were a career-high and he finished the three-game event with 28 total boards.

His efforts helped UND hold a 42-35 edge on the glass, but the Penguins scored 17 points off of 14 UND turnovers and also shot 56 percent from the field to help get in the win column for the first time this season. UND managed just a 39 percent clip from the floor and hit only 6-of-23 attempts from beyond the arc.

UND will return home to the Betty on Saturday to take on Northern Iowa in a non-conference affair. Tip-off against the Panthers is set for 2 p.m. CT.

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