DENVER – North Dakota shot nearly 61 percent from the field in the second half to post an 82-71 win over Denver on Thursday night from Magness Arena.
 
UND (7-8, 1-0 Summit League) notches its third straight win over Denver and collects an all-important road victory to open conference season.
 
Marlon Stewart led the way once again for the Fighting Hawks, pouring in 22 points, including 13 in the second half on 4-of-6 shooting, to lead the visitors. The conference's leader in assists dished out seven in the win while also grabbing six rebounds.
 
De'Sean Allen-Eikens rebounded from a tough shooting day at Oregon State with a 7-for-9 night for 18 points, three rebounds, and a helper to record his 13th game this season with at least 10 points.
 
Kienan Walter was huge over the final half of play, scoring 12 of his 15 total points over the final 20 minutes. The senior hit a pair of triples, hit all five of his attempts from the charity stripe, and tallied five rebounds in the win.
 
Filip Rebraca was the final Fighting Hawk in double figures, notching his Summit League-leading ninth double-double of the season. The Serbian needed only three shots to score 11 points and grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds to become the first player in UND's Division I history to tally three straight games with a double-double.
 
As a team, UND rebounded from a slow start from the field to finish just over 48% from the field and held Denver under 34% shooting. The Hawks only sank six triples on 23 tries but also kept the Pioneers from hitting from distance, registering only a 6-for-20 night.
 
Free throws were a strength for both sides. After a tough game from the charity stripe in the loss at Oregon State, the Hawks showed why they are one of the nation's top free-throw shooting teams with a 26-for-31 effort. Denver, who had normally struggled this season from the line, hit 21-of-22 in the loss.
 
North Dakota also flexed its rebounding muscles with 41 on the contest to finish a +9 in the battle on the boards. The Hawks turned that into a 36-16 advantage in scoring inside the paint and a 12-11 lead in second-chance points.
 
Neither team could get off to a strong start offensively, with both sides combining for just four made field goals through the opening seven minutes of action to give UND a slim, 5-4 lead.
 
As the opening 10 minutes of the half wore on, UND still couldn't get the ball to fall through the hoop. The visitors started the stanza just 2-for-13 from the field, including missing all eight of its attempts from distance, to fall behind by six, 11-5.
 
It still wasn't pretty, but UND started to get it going over the next few minutes. Rebraca was able to create some offense at the charity stripe before Stewart dished a perfect pass to Billy Brown in the corner where the senior canned his first triple since Dec. 17 to give the Hawks a 13-11 lead with just over eight minutes to play in the half.
 
Getting to the line continued to be a strong part of North Dakota's offense, converting 14-of-16 in the opening half to push its lead into double digits. The shots from the field started to go down as well, with Stewart and Bentiu Panoam each draining a three before Stewart drove the rim, drew the contact, and sank the layup to put the Hawks up 37-26 in the final two minutes of the half. Both teams added a final bucket over the final minutes to send UND to the locker room with a 39-28 lead after 20 minutes.
 
Denver had a little push to begin the second frame, but UND answered the bell with a strong push themselves. The Hawks hit four straight shots, including a huge triple from Walter, to extend the lead back to double figures, 50-36, with just over five minutes gone in the half.
 
Turnovers and fouls started to plague the Fighting Hawks during the middle portion of the second half and allowed Denver to climb back into the game. Eight giveaways by the visitors through the first 12 minutes of the stanza, including four in a 3:51 span, sparked an 13-2 run by the Pioneers to cut the deficit down to just two, 56-54, with 7:38 to play.
 
With the lead trimmed down to a single point, North Dakota turned to its seniors for a pair of huge plays. Walter and Stewart combined for a 6-0 spurt in less than a minute after Stewart found Walter for a transition three before the Vancouver, Wash., native grabbed a huge offensive rebound and kicked it out for a Stewart three on the ensuing possession to give the visitors a 66-59 lead with just over four minutes to go.
 
Denver cut the deficit to a pair once again, but Stewart and Allen-Eikens took over. Stewart connected on a pair of layups and found Allen-Eikens with a great pass before the freshman connected on a three-point play to keep the lead at a comfortable distance, 76-69, with a minute on the clock.
 
North Dakota continued to sink its free throws down the stretch to complete the 82-71 victory and move to 1-0 in conference play.
 
UND returns to action on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. against Purdue Fort Wayne from the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. The game can be seen on MidcoSN.