GRAND FORKS, N.D. – Sophomore Geno Crandall scored 31 points and senior Quinton Hooker added 22 as North Dakota dealt Weber State an 83-77 loss in men's Big Sky basketball play Thursday at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. Crandall notched a career-high for the second-straight game as UND (10-7, 5-2 BSC) also snapped the Wildcats' seven-game winning streak and dealt Weber State (9-7, 4-1 BSC) its first loss in league play.

“I could not be more proud of this team,” UND head coach Brian Jones said. “We competed for the entire 40 minutes tonight against a really good basketball team. I thought the difference was our defense in the second half. We really turned up the pressure down the stretch and hit some clutch shots to secure the win.”

Crandall led the way for UND on 10-of-14 shooting from the floor and also made a career-high 10 free throws on 12 attempts. He put the Fighting Hawks in the lead for good at 71-70 with a driving layup at 2:22 mark and added eight more points in the closing two minutes to give UND its best league start as a Big Sky member.

The Fighting Hawks overcame a five-point halftime deficit to claim their third win of the season when trailing at the half (at Montana State, vs. Cal Bakersfield).

The Wildcats were led by All-Big Sky first teamer Jeremy Senglin, who scored 24 points on six made 3-pointers. However, Weber State's sharpshooter would miss his final four attempts from the field after a 9-for-15 start and tallied only three points in the final 16 minutes of the game.

He scored eight quick points out of halftime to help stretch the Wildcats' lead to its highest peak at 55-46 with just over six minutes off the clock, but UND would erase that deficit with a 10-0 run.

UND's comeback was sparked by its hot shooting from the floor and foul line in the second half. The Fighting Hawks went 18-for-23 from the field in the second half and matched that total from the free-throw line for the entire game in the victory.

Hooker had 15 of his points after halftime as he went 6-for-8 from the floor in the closing 20 minutes. His 3-pointer with 5:42 to play put UND ahead 67-60, but the Wildcats would not go away. Jerrick Harding, who had 14 points off the bench, drilled a trey just over 90 seconds later to give WSU the lead back at 68-67.

The teams would exchange the lead three times after that before Crandall and company would dash any hopes of Weber State remaining unbeaten in league play with an 8-0 run. Crandall made his final 10 free throws after missing his first two and is averaging 27.0 ppg over UND's last three contests.

He added game-highs in assists (4) and steals (3), while Hooker had six rebounds for the Fighting Hawks, who dominated the glass, holding a 37-22 edge in that category. Junior Drick Bernstine led all players with nine boards and chipped in with eight points.

UND returns to The Betty for a Saturday afternoon tilt against Idaho State. Tip-off against the Bengals is set for 2 p.m. CT.

-- UND --