GRAND FORKS, N.D. – Marlon Stewart matched his career high with 29 points to help lead North Dakota past Purdue Fort Wayne, 83-69, on Sunday afternoon at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.
 
UND (8-8, 2-0 Summit League) pulled away with strong shooting and defense in the second half, converting at a near-62% clip and holding the Mastodons (8-9, 1-1 Summit League) to just 43% from the floor over the final 20 minutes for the victory.
 
Stewart may have cemented his claim for a second Summit League Player of the Week honor this season with a 29-point, eight-assist, and six-rebound performance. The senior connected on 50% of his looks from the field, made 10 of his 14 shots from the charity stripe, and was a game-high +19 in the win. The 29 points tie his career best from Mar. 6, 2018 vs. Montana State to go along with his 12th game this season with at least four helpers.
 
Kienan Walter provided a scoring spark despite limited minutes due to foul trouble. The senior was able to get to the line a handful of times and connected on all eight of his attempts while grabbing two rebounds and a steal. De'Sean Allen-Eikens continued to rack up double-digit scoring efforts with 10 points on 3-of-6 shooting and two assists in 29 minutes of action for his 14th game in double figures this season.
 
Filip Rebraca became the first UND player in its Division I history to notch four straight double-doubles, tallying 12 points and 13 rebounds to bring his season total to 10. He passes Drick Bernstine for the program's DI record for double-doubles in a season while also moving into third in UND's DI history in career double-doubles with 11 (Troy Huff – 15, Drick Bernstine – 12).
 
Brady Danielson was the final Fighting Hawk in double figures with 11 points off the bench. The freshman did his damage from distance once again, as all three of his makes came from beyond the arc.
 
North Dakota showed why they are one of the top shooting teams in the country on Sunday, finishing at 56.8% for the contest and hitting 10-of-22 (45.5%) from three. The defense was not too shabby either, holding the Mastodons to just 42.4% from the field and 5-of-19 (26.3%) from deep.
 
Both teams grabbed 31 rebounds in the contest, with Purdue Fort Wayne finding success on the offensive glass with 12 and UND grabbing 28 defensive boards. The Mastodons won the turnover, 15-9, and the points in the paint, 36-22, battles, but the Hawks shared the ball well once again with 14 assists.
 
Much like how Thursday's game at Denver began, neither team could really get into a groove offensively. Purdue Fort Wayne held the lead with solid defense for most of the opening minutes of the first half before Davids Atelbauers nailed a three off a pass from Rebraca in the paint to push the Hawks in double digits, 13-12, with 11:24 to play in the stanza.
 
The Mastodons extended their lead to as large as five on a pair of occasions, but with the score at 23-18, UND started to chip away. Walter, who was fouled while taking a three, hit all three of his attempts at the line before Danielson followed with back-to-back threes to even the score at 27 with just over three minutes to go in the first half. Moments later, Stewart gave the Hawks the lead with a three and a layup by Rebraca flipped the five-point advantage towards the hosts, 33-29, with 2:14 to play.
 
Stewart put his finishing touches on the first half with five straight points to send the hosts to the locker room with a 37-31 advantage and all the momentum.
 
UND carried that momentum into the second half and came out hot, hitting five of its first six attempts from the field and holding Purdue Fort Wayne without a field goal for the first four minutes to build a 49-33 lead and force an early timeout. Four of the five starters got into the scoring action in the run to begin the second half to push the advantage to 16 and bring the 1,280 fans to their feet.
 
The Mastodons tried to chip the deficit under double figures, but the combination of Stewart and Walter kept the advantage above the 10-point mark. Stewart hit a pair of jumpers while Walter hit all five of his attempts from the line, including getting fouled while attempting a three for the second time on the night, to stretch the advantage back to 16, 58-42, with 12:04 to go.
 
Purdue Fort Wayne threatened once again past the halfway point of the second half, cutting the lead down to 10, but an 8-0 burst by the Hawks put the game away. UND stretched its lead to as high as 19 in the final seconds, but settled for an 83-69 victory and a 2-0 start in conference play for the first time since 2005-06.
 
North Dakota returns to action on Wednesday for a showdown against longtime rival Omaha at 7 p.m. from the Betty.