GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- Senior Quinton Hooker put together the fifth 30-point game of his career in leading North Dakota to a 94-66 victory over Mayville State Tuesday at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.

Hooker ended up right on the 30-point mark on the strength of 11-of-14 shooting from the floor. He went 5-for-7 from the beyond the arc and led a quartet of double-figure scorers for the Fighting Hawks.

"I thought we played much better in the second half," UND head coach Brian Jones said. "We were flat early and give them credit for playing well there at the start.

"We had better focus in the second half and did a better job on the defensive end after halftime too. There is still a lot of room for improvement on that end of the floor."

Sophomore Conner Avants gave the Fighting Hawks their first double-digit lead of the game with the opening basket of the second half and the Comets would never get back within single digits after that. Avants finished with nine points, while Geno Crandall and Carson Shanks added 11.

Junior Drick Bernstine chipped in with 10 points and helped UND shoot 53.8 percent (35-of-65) from the floor.

UND only turned the ball over six times, while forcing the Comets into 15 miscues and blocking nine of their shots led by Carson Shanks, who tied a career-high with four rejections.

The teams went back-and-forth early in the contest before the visiting Comets took a 17-13 lead on back-to-back treys by Conor Quinn with 12:12 left to play.

MSU would stretch its run to 8-0 and build its largest lead of the half before Hooker quieted the run with a baseline jumper. Freshman Billy Brown added the next five points for the home team to put the Fighting Hawks back in the lead at 20-19.

More back-and-forth play ensued before Quinn, who made all five of his first-half shots, put the Comets back in the lead at 31-29 with his fourth trey at the 5:12 mark.

UND's defense would tighten after that allowing only one more field goal in the closing five minutes. 

Hooker and company took advantage of that drought by outscoring the Comets 14-4 during that stretch to claim a 43-35 lead by halftime. The senior captain made a pair of 3-pointers in the closing minutes and finished the half with 13 points.

UND's halftime advantage could have been larger if not for 4-for-13 effort from the foul line. The Fighitng Hawks improved in the second half from the stripe, finishing the game 14-for-25. 

UND finishes off its three-game homestand to start the season when the Fighting Hawks host Presentation College on Sunday at 4 p.m.

-- UND --