Hooker had as many points as he did turnovers in the first half as Southern Utah built a 41-38 halftime lead, but it was a different story in the second half. He made six of his first seven shots from the field and scored 11 straight for the Fighting Hawks at one point to give UND a seven-point cushion.

The pesky Thunderbirds would not go away, however, closing within a point on three-different occasions in the final minute. But, each time SUU made a basket, UND would convert on the free-throw line where Hooker and Adam McDermott sank eight straight in the final 42 seconds to seal the victory.

“We're just happy to get this first win out of the way,” UND head coach Brian Jones said. “We knew they would give us their best shot and that is exactly what we got. Obviously, Q had a big second-half for us, but I thought Cortez Seales gave us some big minutes down the stretch of the first half to get us back in the game.”

Seales finished with 10 points and six rebounds off the bench, while Drick Bernstine added 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the floor and shared team-high honors on the glass with Hooker as both players grabbed eight rebounds.

Geno Crandall rounded out a quartet of double-figure scorers for UND with 11 points. UND's point guard converted a big 3-point play at the end of the first half, but John Marshall, who led Southern Utah with 19 points, hit an 18-foot jumper at the halftime horn to give the T-Birds a three-point advantage.

Bernstine, who had 11 of his 15 after halftime, gave UND the lead back with the first two baskets after halftime and his layup at the 12-minute mark put the Fighting Hawks ahead for good. That is when Hooker scored the next 11 points and UND stretched the lead to as many as nine before the T-Birds rallied to make things interesting in the closing minute.

The Thunderbirds controlled the first half despite UND opening the game on a 10-2 run. Marshall capped a 9-0 run for SUU with a 3-pointer that tied the game at 16-16 at the 11:32 mark.

SUU then took its first lead on another trey by James McGee at 23-20. The T-Birds' sharp shooter finished with 14 points and drained four 3-pointers to give his team a boost.

McGee and company would push their advantage to as many as eight points in the opening 20 minutes before UND closed the gap with a 7-0 in the closing three minutes.

Marshall would snap a 3-minute scoring drought with his halftime buzzer beat. The T-Birds were aided in the first half by a 10-for-12 effort from the foul line and also turned 10 UND turnovers into 15 points.

UND shot 53.8 percent from the field, but those miscues were costly as well as just an 8-for-13 clip from the charity stripe.

The Fighting Hawks only committed four turnovers after halftime and went 17-for-21 from the stripe. UND finished with a 52 percent clip from the floor, while SUU shots 53 percent for the game.

-- UND --