RENO, Nev. -- Junior Quinton Hooker equaled his career-high with 38 points, but fifth-seeded North Dakota's upset bid of top-seeded Weber State fell short in overtime as the Wildcats secured an 83-78 victory in the Big Sky Tournament semifinals on Friday.
Hooker went toe-to-toe with Weber State's Jeremy Senglin in a back-and-forth affair that saw eight lead changes and the game tied on 10 different occasions. With the loss, UND falls to 17-15, while Weber State improved to 25-8 and knocked the Fighting Hawks out of the tournament for the third time in the last four seasons.
Senglin, who was a first team All-Big Sky selection along with Hooker, finished with 31 points and his game-tying three-pointer with 11 seconds to play in regulation forced the extra session that saw the Wildcats outscore the Fighting Hawks 19-14.
Senglin had nine points in those closing five minutes and added two more contested 3-pointers that dashed any hopes of UND advancing to its second Big Sky Tournament title game in the last three seasons.
"I could not be any prouder of my team," UND head coach Brian Jones said. "That was quite a college basketball game and, unfortunately, we had to come out on the losing side of it."
The largest lead either team held was six points throughout a game that saw Hooker and Senglin both make 11 field goals.
When either team would gain a little bit of an edge, the other would answer to make this one a down-to-the-wire finish.
Hooker finished 14-for-14 for the stripe, which were both career-highs, and put UND up by three twice in the final minute of regulation, but Senglin dropped in a step-back trey to square things up at 64-64.
"You saw two really good basketball players going back-and-forth, making plays for their teams," Jones added. "Both young men made big shots and Q was outstanding for us again. If he's not a mid-major All-American, I'm not sure what one is. He's special."
UND had a look to win it at the end of regulation, but Hooker was double-teamed and Geno Crandall's step-back jumper went off the front of the rim.
Crandall finished with with 14 points, seven rebounds, five assists and four steals.
The Fighting Hawks also got double figures from Carson Shanks, who came off the bench to score 11 points and share the team lead in rebounds with nine.
Big Sky MVP Joel Bolomboy added 17 points and 19 rebounds for his 25th double-double of the season.
Senglin opened the extra session with his sixth 3-pointer of the night and the Wildcats would push their lead to six on his seventh with 59 seconds to play, but the Wildcats left the door open by going 1-for-2 on consecutive trips to the foul line.
Hooker made two driving layups and his second cut the deficit to 79-78, but Weber State would make its final four free throws after UND came up empty on back-to-back possessions to ice the victory.
UND held a 39-37 edge on the glass, marking just the second time this season the Fighting Hawks have lost when leading that category. Sophomore Drick Bernstine added nine boards for UND and finished the tournament with 38, just two shy of the record.
Both teams shot over 40 percent from the floor, but it was Weber State's 14 makes from beyond the arc that proved to be a difference. UND went just 3-for-8 from distance.
With 17 victories and an overall winning record on the season, UND will await word on a postseason opportunity after the NCAA Tournament field is announced on Sunday evening.
-- UND --
