MISSOULA, Mont. -- The University of North Dakota men's basketball team gave the preseason favorites from the Big Sky Conference all it could handle, but Montana held firm at home in a 77-70 triumph over the Fighting Hawks on Friday night from Dahlberg Arena. 

UND (4-6) kept pace with the Griz (4-5) for a majority of the contest, but a 9-1 run near the midway point of the second half gave the hosts the separation it needed to escape with its ninth straight victory over the Fighting Hawks. 

Marlon Stewart scored a team-high 19 points for the Fighting Hawks, just missing his third straight 20-point outing. The senior did a lot of his damage at the charity stripe once again, going 7-for-10 to go along with eight assists and four rebounds.

Montana's Kendal Manuel followed in Stewart's footsteps in earning trips to the line to score points, striking for 10 of his game-high 20 at the free-throw line. Sayeed Pridgett also recorded 20 points on 9-of-19 shooting to match the top mark of the evening. 

Filip Rebraca just kept doing his thing on Friday night, recording his Summit League-leading sixth double-double of the season with 14 points and 12 rebounds. The scoring came on effective shooting once again, as the conference's top-shooter connected on 6-of-8 from the field to mark his 10th straight game scoring in double figures. 

De'Sean Allen-Eikens was the final Hawk with 10+ points, scoring 13 points, grabbing three rebounds, and dishing out a pair of assists. 

For the fifth straight game, UND won the rebounding battle. The Hawks grabbed 34 boards to 31 for the Griz, pushing their rebounding margin to +68 over that five-game stretch. Montana, however, controlled the points in the paint with 40 compared to just 22 for UND. 

UND finished with 17 turnovers on the evening and forced 10 from the Griz, with the hosts edging UND by three in points off turnovers, 15-12. 

After Montana jumped out to an early lead, North Dakota rallied back before the midway point of the first half to take a four-point lead into the under-12 timeout. Stewart's five points on offense provided the spark on the scoreboard, but it was Brady Danielson's defense that jump-started the Hawks in Missoula. The freshman drew a charge, grabbed two defensive boards, and dished out an assist to push the visitors in front, 15-11, in the opening stanza. 

As the half wore on, however, Montana began to take control. The Griz pushed their lead to as high as nine in the final moments of the period, but a Kienan Walter bucket cut the deficit to seven, 32-25, heading into the halftime break. 

Turnovers were the issue for the green and white during the first 20 minutes, committing 12 of the game's 17 during that stretch to lead to 12 Montana points. 

Montana pushed its lead to eight to begin the second half, but UND was able to respond again with a run of its own to bring the game back to even. Allen-Eikens drilled a triple to start the run before a Rebraca layup and Billy Brown three capped off the spurt at eight straight points and a 36-36 deadlock at the under-16 timeout. 

The tied game did not last for long, as the Griz answered with a 9-1 run of their own to take an eight point lead and created the distance they needed to hold off the Hawks. 

With the lead at 10 inside the final minute of play, UND chipped it down to six on a pair of occasions, but could not complete the comeback. 

North Dakota returns to action on Sunday afternoon with a showdown at Eastern Washington at 5:30 p.m. from Cheney, Wash.