GRAND FORKS, N.D. – Four Fighting Hawks scored in double figures as the University of North Dakota men's basketball team defeated Mayville State, 83-66, on Friday night at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.
 
Cortez Seales scored a game-high 22 points and added five rebounds, five assists, and a block in the victory for the Hawks (6-5). The 22-point outburst is the most this season by the senior and marks the ninth time scoring in double figures in just 11 contests this season.
 
Filip Rebraca finished with his second double-double of the season, scoring 15 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. The freshman also had two rejections to help the Hawks to a season-high eight on the night.
 
Billy Brown knocked down a trio of triples in the second half to register 14 points in a game-high 38 minutes. The player that Head Coach Brian Jones called his "underrated star," Brown added four rebounds, two assists, and a block, and a steal.
 
Aanen Moody finished as the final UND player to cross the 10-point plateau as the redshirt freshman recorded 11 points, but was plagued with foul trouble for much of the second half to finish with only 22 minutes. Moody also tallied two rebounds, two assists, and a game-high three steals.
 
Despite being held scoreless in the first half, Conner Avants tallied six points in the early part of the final period to eclipse 1,000 points over his career.
 
UND finished 34-of-63 (.540) from the field while holding the Comets to just 27-for-66 (.409) to move to 5-0 this season when shooting over 50%. The Hawks also held Mayville State to 0-of-7 from downtown in the second half after the Comets hit on 7 of their 14 tries from deep in the opening stanza.
 
 
North Dakota had a strong start offensively, converting seven of its first nine to take a 16-10 lead at the game's first media timeout. Mayville State went punch-for-punch with the Hawks, however, forcing a pair of turnovers and converting back-to-back shots from the field to cut the UND lead to three, 18-15, with just over 13 minutes remaining in the first half.
 
Despite the Comets hitting four of their first seven from deep, UND was able to stretch its advantage to eight, 26-18, just beyond the halfway mark of the opening stanza thanks to a trio of early blocks and forcing five turnovers.
 
UND continued to defend the paint well in the first half, as Rebraca recorded his loudest rejection of the night by swatting a ball off the glass that led to a coast-to-coast drive and finish by Elijah Hazekamp. Moody then drove to the basket, took the contact, and finished the bucket for a traditional three-point play to give the Hawks a 43-30 lead with just over two minutes remaining in the stanza.
 
The Hawks looked to be carrying a 14-point lead into the halftime break, but a late three at the buzzer by the Comets sent the hosts into the locker room with a 47-36 advantage.
 
After failing to score in the first half, Avants started strong in the second by connecting on back-to-back buckets in the paint to cross the 1,000-point plateau in his career and give UND a 55-42 lead.
 
Mayville State battled back again, trimming the deficit down to single digits thanks to a 7-0 run by the Comets before a Seales jumper halted the spurt with 13:26 to play. The senior then hit two more shots to push the advantage back to 10, 63-53, with 10:08 remaining in the contest.
 
Rebraca etched his double-double with a defensive rebound followed by an old-fashioned three-point play on the offensive end to give UND a 69-56 lead with just under seven minutes to play. The Hawks continued to hit from the field, draining five of their next six to extend the lead to 16, the largest of the night to this point, with 4:55 left in regulation. After Seales hit another jumper to record his first 20-point game of the season, Brown crossed into double figures with a triple to push the advantage to 16.
 
UND extended the lead to 17 on a final jumper by Seales as the Fighting Hawks crossed over the .500 mark with a 83-66 victory.
 
North Dakota returns to action next Tuesday at 7 p.m. against No. 22 Marquette in Milwaukee on FOX Sports North PLUS.
 
NOTES: Cortez Seales has now scored 10+ points in nine of the team's 11 games this season … UND moves to 29-4 when scoring 80-or-more points over the past three years and 5-0 this season … The Hawks move to 4-1 this season when four players reach double figures in scoring … The double-double by Filip Rebraca was the second of his career … UND extends its record to 306-155 all-time against opponents from the state of North Dakota … Tonight marked only the third time this season UND's reserves have been outscored (2-1 record) … UND now has its first winning streak in the month of December since 2015.