GRAND FORKS, N.D. – KJ Robinson drilled a triple with just under a minute to play to give the Mavericks a four-point lead before the visitors held off the Fighting Hawks for a 66-62 victory over North Dakota on Wednesday evening at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.
 
UND (8-9, 2-1 Summit League) battled back from a double-digit deficit in the second half, but came up just short in the battle of unbeaten in conference play.
 
It was the duo of Robinson and starting guard JT Gibson who provided nearly all the offense for the Mavericks (10-8, 3-0 Summit League), combining for 34 points, 12 made field goals, six rebounds, and five assists to lead the visitors to its 11th straight win over North Dakota. Marlon Ruffin added 10 points off the bench as Mavs' reserves outscored the Hawks' bench, 27-2.
 
Marlon Stewart reached 20 points for the fourth time over his last five games, scoring a game-high 22 points on 6-of-14 shooting, grabbed five rebounds, and dished out three assists. The three helpers are his lowest output since Dec. 8 at Eastern Washington, as UND was held to just nine assists as a team on the night.
 
Billy Brown seemed to get out of his shooting funk that has plagued him throughout much of the season, hitting four of his five attempts from the field, including both of his shots from distance, to finish with 12 points. The senior added five rebounds and two assists for his second double-digit scoring performance of the season.
 
De'Sean Allen-Eikens was the final Fighting Hawk in double figures, striking for 14 points, four rebounds, and two steals to notch his 15th game this season with at least 10 points.
 
The double-double streak came to an end at four for Filip Rebraca, but the sophomore battled all night against one of the league's best forwards. He tallied nine points on a tough 2-for-9 game from the field, but grabbed 12 rebounds, rejected two shots, and had a pair of helpers. His foe, Matt Pile, was limited to just four points and 11 rebounds for the Mavs. The four points were the lowest of the season for Pile while Rebraca was held under double digits for the second time this year.
 
UND, who entered the game as one of the top shooting teams in the nation, struggled to see shots fall in the losing effort. The Hawks were held to just 19-of-55 (34.5%) from the field and 7-of-21 (33.3%) from three while Omaha converted a slightly better clip of 42.6% (26-of-61).
 
Rebounding went the way of Omaha, 42-36, with offensive rebounds proving to be a difference for the visitors in the win. The Mavericks collected 10 boards that led to 11 second chance points, including the dagger three by Robinson.
 
For only the fourth time this year, UND won the turnover battle, 11-10; however, Omaha was a little more lucrative in turning them into points by outscoring the Hawks, 12-10, in points off giveaways.
 
Something that has plagued North Dakota in the previous two contests has been slow starts; however, Wednesday was a different story. Stewart dished a perfect pass to the corner to Billy Brown for a triple to get the scoring started before Walter followed with a three of his own to put the Hawks up early. UND added to its advantage with back-to-back buckets from Allen-Eikens to take a 10-4 lead just six minutes into the contest.
 
Omaha roared back with a run of its own, striking for 10 straight points to take a 14-12 lead off a Wanjang Tut steal and finish near the halfway point of the first half. The back-and-forth affair continued to headline the first half, with five lead changes occurring over a three minute span.
 
Despite playing most of the frame with two fouls, Stewart took over on the offensive side of the ball. The senior drilled three straight threes to put the Fighting Hawks in front by six, 30-24, entering the final media timeout of the first half. Omaha snatched the momentum right back with a huge run of its own, scoring 15 of the next 17 points to take a 39-32 lead into the halftime break.
 
North Dakota came out of the gate firing to start the second half, closing the deficit to just a pair, but Omaha stretched its lead once again after the offense dried up through the middle portion of the frame. The Mavericks scored eight straight points to take a 47-37 lead with 13:20 to play.
 
UND kept making pushes, cutting it to four and six, respectively, but Omaha kept answering the Fighting Hawks shot-for-shot to hold a 56-50 lead with just over six minutes to play. The run continued to last for North Dakota this time, cutting the lead to just three, 59-56, with 1:31 to play.
 
After two free throws cut the Omaha lead to just one, 59-58, an offensive rebound kicked out to Robinson where he drilled his fourth triple of the night to put the Mavs up by four, 62-58, with a under 60 seconds remaining. The visitors hit its shots from the charity stripe down the stretch to close out the victory and hand UND its first loss of conference season.
 
North Dakota is back in action this Saturday at Oral Roberts at 7 p.m. in Tulsa.