GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- Southern Utah overcame a career-high from North Dakota's Quinton Hooker to post a 71-65 victory Saturday at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.

The Thunderbirds (9-18, 6-10) also spoiled Senior Day for a quartet of UND players that played the final Big Sky game on their home court.

The victory also kept SUU in the running for one of eight Big Sky postseason berths, while officially eliminating UND (8-20, 4-13 BSC) from contention for one those spots.

Hooker went 10-for-15 from the field and tried to will his team back from a 15-point, second-half deficit, but the home team could only trim that down to four points down the stretch.

"Because of our slow start, there was no energy from our guys," UND head coach Brian Jones said. "But, our guys have to learn from that. Even with starting 3-for-21 (from the floor), we were not down that many points because our defense was holding strong until probably the last three minutes of the half when they scored on four straight possessions.

"The start of the second half from an energy standpoint was what we were capable of doing. That is why we cut into the lead."

Sophomore Trey Kennedy was the only SUU player to reach double figures, finishing with 13 points, but 10 of the 11 Thunderbirds that played scored points and seven had at least seven tallies in the scoring column at the game's conclusion.

UND could never recover from an eight-minute scoreless stretch in the first half that saw the Thunderbirds only score eight points themselves during that span.

Hooker ended the drought with a jumper in the lane. SUU scored eight points on its final three possessions of the opening half, including a Kennedy 3-pointer with two ticks remaining, to take its largest lead of the stanza into the break at 37-24.

Senior Lenny Antwi, who finished with eight points, knocked down a 3-pointer at the 6:03 mark to make it a 57-53 contest, but SUU would go on a 12-3 run over the next three-plus minutes to seal the victory.

Cal Hanks had nine points on 4-of-4 shooting from the floor to lead an SUU bench effort that outscored UND's 30-18. His perfect day from the field also helped the visitors shoot 50 percent from the floor for the game, while UND managed to shoot 43.4 percent.

Seniors Ryan Salmonson and Chad Calcaterra both started for UND and contributed early in the contest. Salmonson finished with four points and a rebound, while Calcaterra had three rebounds and a block. 

UND closes out its home slate on Tuesday with a non-conference affair against Omaha. Tipoff against the former North Central Conference rival is set for 7 p.m.

-- UND --