GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- North Dakota withstood one final miss from Montana State's Tyler Hall to survive with a 75-74 victory over the Bobcats Thursday in Big Sky play.

Hall, who came in averaging 18.5 ppg, was smothered by Cortez Seales throughout the game, making just 1-of-11 field goals in a matchup of childhood best friends.

Hall's 3-point attempt at the buzzer was his 10th missed field goal during an unchacteristic off night for the Big Sky Preseason Player of the Year, who is also MSU's all-time leader in 3-pointers made with 286.

Seales finished with 12 points and had some big baskets late that helped UND snap a three-game losing streak. He finished 6-for-11 from the field and was joined in double figures by three other Fighting Hawks.

Senior Dale Jones led that quartet with 18 points, but fouled out with just over five minutes to play after sinking 3-of-6 from beyond the arc.

"I thought we were dynamite at times in the first half," UND head coach Brian Jones said. "But, that was not the case in those opening five minutes after halftime.

"That intentional foul (to start the second half) really put us on our heals. We gave up a 14-0 run, got down by nine, but then we turned it on defensively and that was the difference down the stretch."

Each team had its own 14-0 run in a game that saw the lead change seven times and be tied on five other occasions.

UND's big spurt came after Montana State scored the opening basket of the game. UND answered with the next 14 points to build an early cushion.

Montana State withstood that early surge and didn't let the home team pull away. The Bobcats got within two on a couple of occasions late in the first half before Jones knocked down a corner 3-pointer just before the horn to give UND a 38-33 lead at the break.

UND couldn't keep the momentum after the break, allowing the Bobcats to score the first 14 points over a five-minutes scoreless stretch by the home team.

Four of those points came on MSU's opening possession after Jones was whistled for an intential foul after Keljin Blevins got a steal in the opening 10 seconds.

Blevins made both free throws and Harold Frey knocked down a jumper to make it a one-point contest.

Frey would pick up the scoring slack from Hall, finishing with a game-high 21 points. The Bobcats also got 10 points from Zach Green off the bench.

Crandall broke the scoring drought with a steal and layup and would UND would claw its way back into the contest after falling down by nine.

Freshman Tray Buchanan gave UND the lead back on a layup and followed with a 3-pointer at the 7:57 mark that put UND up by four at 62-58.

Hall would give MSU one last lead at the 5:39 mark after burying a pair of free throws, but managed just six total points on the night.

After those free throws, Seales would cap a 9-0 run by the home by hitting a jumper over Hall, but UND would need a pair of free throws from Crandall with 90 seconds to play to give the Fighting Hawks a seven-point lead.

That was just enough cushion as Fray would get the next six points for the Bobcats to make it a one-point game in the closing 30 seconds.

Crandall would get the last look for UND, but his layup would fall off the rim and Hall would hoist the final shot for the Bobcats, but his fifth miss from 3-point land hit off the back of the iron.

The Bobcats held a 43-30 edge on the glass and had 17 second-chance points to keep them in it til the end.

UND held the Bobcats to a 38.6 percent clip from the floor, while shooting 44.8 percent. Jones and Seales both went 6-for-11 from the field and UND turned it over only eight times.

The Fighting Hawks return to action Saturday against league-leading Montana at 4:05 p.m. CT.

-- UND --