OREM, Utah – A 6-0 run over the final 1:28 boosted Utah Valley to a 74-68 victory over the University of North Dakota men's basketball team on Saturday evening at UCCU Center in Orem.
 
With the victory, the Wolverines (4-3) extended the nation's third-longest home winning streak to 16 games and silenced UND's (4-2) chance to start the season with a 5-1 record for the first time in the Division I era (2008-present).
 
Conner Avants led all scorers with 20 points to record his second straight 20-plus point performance. The senior finished 9-of-13 from the field, added eight rebounds, and a trio of assists.
 
Cortez Seales scored 19 points and added 10 rebounds for the first double-double of the senior's career. Logging a game-high 35 minutes, Seales connected on 8-of-15 looks, dished out five assists, and recorded two blocks.
 
Aanen Moody was the third Fighting Hawk to reach double figures, drilling a trio of triples to finish with 11 points.
 
Utah Valley finished with a 35-30 rebounding advantage, marking only the second time this season that UND has lost the battle on the boards. The previous time was against then-No. 10 Kentucky on Nov. 14 in Lexington.
 
The Wolverines also connected on 10-of-22 from downtown, including hitting seven in the first half. UND hit 4-of-7 from deep in the first 20 minutes, but was just 2-for-12 in the second half to finish 6-for-19 in the contest.
 
Utah Valley came out firing to begin the game, building an early advantage thanks to the deep ball. The Wolverines connected on 4-of-5 from beyond-the-arc to start the tilt to take a 13-4 lead at the first media timeout.
 
 After extending the lead to 11, North Dakota battled back thanks to Avants and his hot start from the field as the senior hit four straight buckets to trim the deficit down to 23-17 with just under eight minutes to play in the first period.
 
The lead hovered around 10 for much of the first half for Utah Valley, but UND cut it to six in the final seconds of the opening period when Seales drained an open three; however, the Wolverines hit a shot at the buzzer to carry a 40-32 advantage into the halftime break.
 
Just prior to the midway point of the second half, UND finally started to get its offense going with a 7-0 spurt to whittle the deficit down to just a single point, 48-47. Bentiu Panoam sparked the run with a three before Avants hit a jumper in the paint to cut it to three. After an offensive foul on UVU, Seales hit a jumper in the lane to bring the lead down to one with 11:53 to go.
 
After Utah Valley took a 55-53 lead, the Hawks jumped in front for the first time in the contest as Avants scored another basket in the paint followed by a Moody triple in transition to give the visitors a 58-55 lead with 7:13 to play.
 
Both sides continued to exchange buckets as the clock wore down, as the lead changed hands eight times over the final seven minutes.
 
With just under two minutes to play, UND looked to grab the momentum as Seales made his presence known on both sides of the court. The senior recorded a rejection on the defensive end before hitting a jumper on the offensive end to push the visitors in front, 68-67.
 
The bucket by Seales proved to be the final points of the game for UND as Utah Valley scored six straight points over the final 1:28 to rally for a 74-68 victory.
 
North Dakota returns to action on Tuesday evening with road contest against another former league foe, Montana State, in Bozeman.