GRAND FORKS, N.D. – Kienan Walter struck for a career-high 25 points while Marlon Stewart added 19 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists to help lead North Dakota over Denver, 78-71, on Thursday night from the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center in Grand Forks.
 
The 25-point outburst from Walter was the second 20+ outing of his career, passing his previous career high set against these same Pioneers (5-16, 1-6 Summit League) a season ago. He did all of his damage from distance or at the charity stripe, connecting on a career-best six triples and sinking all seven of his attempts from the line.
 
While Walter may have stolen the game milestones, it was Stewart who took center stage for his career. The senior became the 38th player in program history to score 1,000 points over his career with a 19-point game. Stewart also finished with a team-high seven rebounds and seven assists while hitting all 10 of his free throws. Thursday also marks the 14th straight game in double figures for Stewart, as he looks to become the first player since Quinton Hooker in 2017 to tally at least 10 points in 15 consecutive games.
 
De'Sean Allen-Eikens and Billy Brown rounded out the players in double figures for the Fighting Hawks (9-12, 3-4 Summit League), with Allen-Eikens scoring 13 and Brown adding 10. Both players combined to hit 9-of-11 free throws, as UND hit 28-of-30 total shots from the charity stripe as a team.
 
It wasn't the prettiest of nights from the field for the hosts, hitting only 20-of-55 attempts (36.4%), but did hit 10 threes for the first time since the win vs. Purdue Fort Wayne on Jan. 5. Denver connected at over 51% from the field to mark the first time this season that UND has won a game when being outshot and when allowing its opponent to shoot higher than 50%.
 
Despite the rebounding battle being knotted at 30, UND limited Denver to just one offensive rebound, while collecting seven on the offensive glass themselves, to finish with a 10-3 advantage in second-chance points. The Hawks also won the turnover battle, 19-11, and collected nine steals.
 
After a slow start that saw Denver take an early lead, Stewart and the Fighting Hawks got the offense going with the deep ball. The senior drilled back-to-back triples to put him over the 1,000-point mark and give the Hawks a 12-6 lead at the game's first media timeout.
 
The six-point lead didn't last for long; however, as the Pioneers held the hosts scoreless for nearly five minutes and rallied with six consecutive points to knot the game at 12 with just under 12 minutes to play in the first half. The three ball pushed the Hawks back in front, with Walter and Brady Danielson each connecting to extend the lead back to six, 20-14, at the under-8 timeout.
 
UND's offensive push towards the end of the first half continued, with Walter leading the way once again from his usual spot at the charity stripe. The senior hit five straight from the line over a four-minute span to help spark a 9-2 run for the hosts and a 29-18 lead entering the final three minutes of the stanza. The Hawks maintained their 11-point advantage through those three minutes to take a 33-22 lead heading to the halftime break.
 
Denver came out of halftime with some strong offensive play, connecting on its first six attempts from the field to wither the deficit down to just six, 42-36. Foul trouble was also plaguing the Fighting Hawks over the early portions of the stanza, as Brown had to head to the bench with a trio of fouls.
 
The run didn't stop for the Pios through the opening 10 minutes of the second half, with the visitors eventually taking a 46-42 lead on a 9-of-11 start from the field. With Denver hitting nearly everything, the UND offense dried up for a  5:38 scoring drought that allowed Denver to strike for 12 straight points and take the four-point lead.
 
Facing a deficit for the first time since the game's opening possession, UND turned to its seniors to rally back in the game. Walter took over offensively, draining three straight triples, including a pair in just 20 seconds, to put the Hawks back in front. On the defensive end, Brown and Stewart combined for a trio of steals and four rebounds to force the Pios into a 1-for-7 stretch from the field and a 3:15 scoring drought to take a 57-48 lead with 6:22 to play.
 
Walter, Stewart, and Allen-Eikens helped keep the Fighting Hawks ahead for the final minutes of the game from the charity stripe to close out their fourth straight win over the Pioneers, 76-71.
 
North Dakota will look to get back to the .500 mark on Saturday against Western Illinois at 7 p.m. from the Betty.