GRAND FORKS, N.D. – Idaho escaped with a 74-71 victory over North Dakota in an entertaining Big Sky opener for both teams Thursday at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.

Junior Quinton Hooker equaled his career-high with 28 points and had 26 of those in a second-half that saw UND (5-7, 0-1 Big Sky) nearly rally from a six-point halftime deficit.

Hooker finished 8-for-12 from the field and 4-for-7 from 3-point range, but one of those misses was a contested attempt at the buzzer that was off the mark, securing the fourth straight win for the Vandals (9-5, 1-0 Big Sky).

"I thought our guys battled and learned tonight that each possession is going to be important in Big Sky play," UND head coach Brian Jones said. "We had a lot of similar games like this last year and this year is going to be no different."

Perrion Callandret led the visitors with 21 points and the Vandals got a boost from their bench that outscored UND's 38-12 in the contest.

Freshman Geno Crandall added 13 points for UND and equaled his career-high with six assists, while UND also got double figures from Carson Shanks, who finished with 10 points.

One of the Vandals high-scoring reserves was Chad Sherwood as he scored 16 points off the bench and had 10 in the first half that saw Idaho take a 34-28 thanks to an 8-2 run to close the opening 20 minutes.

Ty Egbert also added 11 off the bench as the Vandals did not have a starter besides Callandret score more than five points.

The Fighting Hawks shot 52 percent from the field in the second half and Hooker, who only played seven minutes in the first half due to foul trouble, willed his team back with precision shooting after the break.
 
He had nine points in the opening five minutes of the half as UND regained the lead at 41-39. The advantage was short-lived though as the Vandals quickly answered with a 10-0 run.

Hooker was resilient once again, sparking an 11-0 run for his squad by converting a 4-point play after being fouled on a corner 3-pointer that fell through the strings. 

Crandall would put UND ahead 56-52 with just over seven minutes to play on a pull-up jumper, but the game would be decided in the final five minutes.

Idaho's leading scorer Victory Sanders, who was held scoreless in the first half and also found himself in foul trouble, broke a 57-57 tie with a 3-pointer and the visitors would never trail again.

UND would manage to square things up two more times in a game that featured six lead changes, but quick 4-0 spurts each time by the Vandals squashed any thoughts of a UND comeback.

The Fighting Hawks had two chances from beyond the arc to force overtime, but Adam McDermott's initial attempt was blocked out of bounds and UND only had two seconds left on the clock and Hooker could not get off a clean look.

Idaho held a 37-28 advantage on the glass and turned nine offensive rebounds into 14 second-chance points.

Both teams went 24-for-53 from the field and made eight 3-pointers, but the Vandals were 18-for-24 from the foul line, while UND made just 15-of-25 attempts. 

UND returns to action on Saturday as the defending conference champions, Eastern Washington, invade the Betty at 2 pm.

-- UND --