DENVER – Exactly one week ago, North Dakota saw firsthand how travel delays can spark a road team to a resounding performance.
 
This afternoon, it was UND's turn as the Fighting Hawks weathered a long Friday of travel delays to issue an 80-59 statement victory over Denver at Magness Arena on Saturday.
 
Five players scored in double figures for the visitors as UND (7-9, 1-2 Summit League) secured its first conference victory as a member of The Summit League.
 
Aanen Moody led all players by matching a career-high 21 points from the bench. The redshirt freshman, who poured in 21 vs. Purdue Fort Wayne last Saturday, hit on 7-of-13 from the field and 5-of-11 from deep to help spark UND's 15 converted triples on the afternoon. Moody also grabbed three boards, two steals, and an assist in the win.
 
Conner Avants continued his strong week of basketball with 14 points, three rebounds, an assist, and steal in just 20 minutes of action as the senior has now hit on 15 of his last 18 shots dating back to Thursday after a 7-for-8 performance today.
 
Cortez Seales, Billy Brown, and Kienan Walter all added 12 points to round out the double-figure scoring for the Fighting Hawks with Walter providing a spark on the glass with a team-high seven rebounds. The five players crossing the 10-point plateau is the second time this season accomplishing the feat, joining the Nov. 17 performance vs. Minnesota Morris.
 
Despite not scoring, Marlon Stewart impacted the game in his first start of the season with an all-around performance by the guard. The junior finished with seven assists, five rebounds, and a steal in 31 minutes of action to finish as a +18 in the win.
 
Denver (5-13, 0-4 Summit League) was led by Creighton transfer Ronnie Harrell Jr. and David Nzekwesi who each tallied 11 points in the loss. UND finished with a .483 to .407 shooting advantage, winning only its second contest this season when shooting less than .500 from the field.
 
After tough starts defensively in its first two conference games of the season, UND came out with authority to begin the contest on Saturday. The Hawks forced three turnovers, converting those into five points, in the opening eight minutes to spark the offense and build a 16-8 lead with 13:31 to play in the opening half.
 
The three-point barrage kept coming for North Dakota in the middle portion of the first half as Brown and Moody combined to hit their first five tries from deep to help the Hawks connect on 6-of-11 from three to start the game and build a 24-16 with 8:53 remaining in the stanza.
 
 The defense and offense continued to dominate for UND, holding the Pioneers scoreless for 5:27, forcing five turnovers over that span, and striking for 17 consecutive points over that span to build a 36-16 lead with just over four minutes to play in the first half.
 
UND never took its foot off the gas in the opening 20 minutes, hitting eight triples in the frame on 17 tries while forcing 13 turnovers by the Pioneers to carry a 44-25 lead into the halftime break.
 
Denver started to work itself back into the contest in the opening minutes of the second half as the Pioneers struck for six straight points and held the Fighting Hawks scoreless for just over two minutes to cut the deficit down to 46-33, but Walter answered with a three to snap the run.
 
After the Pioneers looked to maybe generating some life, North Dakota answered with five straight makes from the field and scoring six consecutive points in under a minute to push the advantage back to 19, 57-38, with 13:15 to play in the contest. Avants and Walter were strong during the run for UND, each getting inside the paint and attacking the basket to spark the run.
 
The Fighting Hawks extended the lead to as large as 30 in the second half, and was able to cruise to an 80-59 victory to mark the first league triumph as a member of The Summit League.
 
North Dakota returns home for three straight games beginning next Thursday against former NCC rival Omaha at 7 p.m. from the Betty.
 
NOTES: The victory is the first over Denver in program history (0-2 previously) … UND snaps a seven-game losing streak away from Grand Forks and matches its total number of road victories from last season … Aanen Moody tied a career-high for points with 21 … UND's 44 points in the first half were the most since Dec. 14 vs. Mayville State and the most vs. a Division I team this season … Five players reached double figures for the second time this season (Nov. 17 vs. Minnesota Morris) … Cortez Seales reached double figures for the 12th time this season … UND improves to 30-4 over the last three seasons when scoring 80+ points (6-0 this season) … The Hawks are now 6-1 when four-or-more players score in double figures … Denver won the rebounding matchup, 37-30, marking the first win this season for UND when losing the battle on the boards (0-8 previously) … UND used a 51-27 run over 20:33 of game action to turn a 22-16 lead into a 73-43 advantage.