MISSOULA, Mont. – North Dakota sophomore Geno Crandall scored a career-high 28 points, but the Fighting Hawks fell 76-70 to Montana in men's Big Sky basketball action Saturday at Dahlberg Arena. The victory by the Grizzlies (10-9, 5-1 BSC) broke a second-place tie in the league standings with UND (9-7, 4-2 BSC), who saw its four-game winning streak come to an end.
Crandall's energy and shooting efficiency from the field, where he went 10-for-13, kept the visitors in this one, but he fouled out with just over two minutes to play and his team trailing 66-63. Carson Shanks would make a layup on the next possession to trim UND's deficit to one, but the Griz would put the game away with a 9-0 run.
“I thought it was a great college basketball game,” UND head coach Brian Jones said. “I think early on we let the turnovers affect our offense too much and we didn't execute how we have been.
“In the second half, we battled and stayed right there, but give them credit for making some timely shots down the stretch. This is the best we have played in this building and this is a game we can learn from and continue to take positive steps.”
UND senior Corey Baldwin added 11 points as both he and Crandall made the rare 4-point plays. It was the fifth-straight game that Baldwin has reached double figures.
The Griz had four players reach double figures led by Ahmaad Rorie, who finished with 20 points. Montana also got a career-high 16 points from Fabijan Krslovic, who went 7-for-8 from the field.
Crandall tied things up at 39-39 with his 4-point play and gave UND the lead back at 41-40 on a driving layup six minutes into the second half, but that would be the last advantage the Fighting Hawks would hold in this one.
Shanks finished with eight points, while the Griz held Quinton Hooker to that same amount after the Big Sky Preseason Player of the Year had scored 20-plus in each of UND's wins during the four-game winning streak.
Crandall put UND ahead 10-9 four minutes into the contest, but the Griz would go on a 12-3 run over the next four minutes to build a 21-13 advantage. Crandall would spark a UND rally, however, and the visitors would claw all the way back.
He capped an 8-0 for spurt for the Fighting Hawks with a 3-pointer that had UND back within a single tally and Shanks would give his squad the lead back with an old-fashioned 3-point play at 27-25 with 5:39 to play.
Crandall, who had 13 first-half points on 5-of-5 shooting from the floor, would go to the bench for the final 4:34 of the half after picking up his second foul during the middle of a quick 5-0 run by the Griz.
Montana would hold onto the lead, but only barely, taking a 32-31 advantage at the break. UND trailed by only that single digit despite committing 11 turnovers. The Griz were only able to turn those miscues into 10 points, while UND scored 11 points off only six turnovers by the home team.
UND only turned it over four times after the break and both teams finished with 36 rebounds. Krslovic finished with a double-double adding 10 rebounds for the Griz, while junior Drick Bernstine returned to UND's starting lineup and pulled down a game-high 11 boards to go with six points.
The Fighting Hawks return home to take on Big Sky-leading Weber State on Thursday at 7:05 p.m. CT.
-- UND --
