GRAND FORKS, N.D. – Led by hot shooting and stout defense, the University of North Dakota men's basketball team erupted for a Betty Engelstad Sioux Center record 115 points and 65-point win margin to claim a 115-50 victory over North Central University on Tuesday evening.
 
UND (2-4) struck for 56 points in the first half before following with 59 in the second to record the largest margin of victory in a game since a 70-9 win vs. the Grand Forks YMCA on Jan. 14, 1921 and the most points in the 15-year history of the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.
 
Gertautas Urbonavicius enjoyed his best night since joining the Fighting Hawks in his young career, scoring 20 points on a perfect night from the field. The freshman hit all six of his shots from the field while also connecting on all eight attempts at the charity stripe for his first-career 20-point game.
 
Kienan Walter was one of two starters to reach double figures in the win, scoring 16 points on a perfect 5-for-5 from the field, including hitting all three of his attempts from deep. The senior also chipped in four rebounds and a steal to move to 17 for his last 27 from the field.
 
Aanen Moody and Davids Atelbauers provided some scoring spark off the bench, dropping 16 and 12 points respectively. Moody sank four of his seven tries from distance, grabbed six rebounds, dished out four assists, and had a steal; while Atelbauers finished tied with Marlon Stewart and Moody with a game-high four helpers.
 
Filip Rebraca was the fifth-and-final Fighting Hawk to cross the 10-point plateau, adding four boards and an assist. The Summit League's top shooter connected on five of his seven attempts from the field.
 
Stewart and De'Sean Allen-Eikens each saw their point streaks come to an end, with Stewart's ending at 12 games despite six points, five rebounds, and four assists and Allen-Eikens' suffering the first single-digit scoring game of his career with six points.
 
After suffering at least 19 turnovers in each of their last three games, UND flipped the script on Tuesday by forcing 18 giveaways by the Rams while only committing seven. The hosts turned those 18 turnovers into 37 points as well as adding 52 points in the paint.
 
As a team, UND shot 64.1% from the field to mark the highest it has shot in a game since last season's win over Minnesota-Morris on Nov. 17 and held NCU to just 32.1% shooting.
 
Defense helped North Dakota put the game away early, holding the Rams without a point for the first 5:04 of the contest to quickly build a 9-0 advantage. A small run pulled the visitors within seven near the midway point of the first half, but the deficit did not stay that small for long.
 
Walter took over the game offensively by drilling back-to-back triples before setting a screen for a Billy Brown triple from the corner off a slick inbounds pass from Stewart gave the Hawks a 30-14 lead with just over eight minutes to play in the opening stanza.
 
The reserves helped UND push the lead over the 30-point mark after a 17-3 run to end the first half. Brady Danielson added a pair of makes, while Zac Saddler, Moody, Atelbauers, and Urbonavicius each drained a shot to send the hosts to the locker room with a 56-23 lead.
 
UND kept its foot on the gas throughout the entire second half, with the bench tallying 45 of the team's 59 points in the period to give the Hawks the win.
 
North Dakota hits the road once again over the Thanksgiving holiday for the Hilton Garden Inn FGCU Classic in Fort Myers, Fla. The Fighting Hawks will battle Florida Gulf Coast on Friday, Georgia Southern on Saturday, and conclude the weekend vs. Campbell on Sunday.
 
NOTES: UND set a new record for points at the Betty with 115 … The 65-point win is the largest margin of victory since 1921 (Jan. 14 vs. GF YMCA) … Five players reached double figures for the first time this season … UND moves to 35-5 over the last three seasons when scoring at least 80 points … Marlon Stewart failed to score 10+ points since Feb. 3, 2019 at Omaha (12 straight games) … UND has won four straight non-conference games at home.