FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Led by a 19-2 run over a six-minute span in the second half, the University of North Dakota men's basketball team rallied to defeat Florida Gulf Coast, 78-63, to open the Hilton Garden Inn FGCU Classic on Friday evening from Alico Arena. 

After trailing by 15 points near the midway point of the first half, the Fighting Hawks (3-4) outscored the Eagles (2-6), 63-30, to claim the comeback victory and snap their non-conference road losing streak at nine. 

Filip Rebraca was strong again on both sides of the floor for the visitors, capturing his fourth double-double of the season with 17 points and 12 rebounds. The Serbian connected on 7-of-15 from the field while adding five assists, two blocks, and a steal. 

Kienan Walter and De'Sean Allen-Eikens led the way offensively for UND, each striking for 18 points and combining for 12 boards. Both hit six of their attempts from the field, with Walter only needing nine shots from the field to strike for 18 points. 

As a team, UND dominated the glass by claiming the rebounding margin by 16 (41-25). The Hawks used 14 offensive rebounds to collect 13 second-chance points and 38 points in the paint while holding the Eagles to seven second-chance points and 28 points in the paint. 

The charity stripe was crucial in the comeback win, as the Hawks connected on 15-of-17 tries from the free-throw line. UND also cut down the turnovers in the second half by committing only five over the final 20 minutes. 

Something that has been common to UND this season has been strong starts; however, it was Florida Gulf Coast who came out of the gate firing. The hosts took an early double digit advantage and eventually pushed the lead to as high as 15, 30-15, with just five minutes to play in the opening half. 

Aanen Moody helped the Hawks shoot their way back into the contest, drilling back-to-back triples before Davids Atelbauers slipped a pass under the basket to Rebraca who finished with a ferocious dunk and the foul to pull the visitors within three heading into the halftime break. 

It didn't take long for UND to grab control in the second half, as Rebraca and Billy Brown started the half with buckets to give the Hawks their first lead of the contest. After Florida Gulf Coast knotted the game at 45, UND exploded for 22 of the next 25 points over a seven-minute span to take a 19-point advantage with just over five minutes to play in the game. The trio of Walter, Rebraca, and Allen-Eikens struck for 16 of the 19 points of the run before Brady Danielson capped off the spurt with a triple from the corner to put the game out of reach. 

FGCU trimmed the deficit to 10, but free throws kept the Fighting Hawks in front and gave the visitors its first win away from Grand Forks on the season. 

North Dakota returns to action tomorrow afternoon with a showdown against Georgia Southern at 3:30 p.m.