University of North Dakota Athletics

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – In a rivalry series that has spanned 301 games, there are some that will fill your heart or break your heart. Saturday's showdown proved to the be latter for North Dakota, as the Fighting Hawks fell to North Dakota State, 53-52, in the final game of the CU Mortgage Direct Dakota Showcase in Sioux Falls.
 
NDSU's (2-5) Sam Griesel drew a final and converted one of his two free throw attempts to break a 52-52 tie and the win.
 
In a game where UND (1-5) led by as many as 10 in the second half, the Fighting Hawks were limited to just one field goal over the game's final 7:51 to see the Bison rally back on a 13-2 run.
 
Filip Rebraca capped off his stellar weekend with his second 20-point performance in three games. The junior tallied a game-high 21 points on 9-of-16 from the field while adding seven rebounds and a block.
 
While no other Fighting Hawks reached double figures, the green and white got some solid games on the defensive end from a few players. Seybian Sims led the way on the glass with a career-high 13 rebounds while Tyree Ihenacho dished out a personal-best six assists, had two blocks and a pair of steals.
 
For the game, UND outshot the Bison, but it was the charity stripe that proved to be the difference. The Hawks were held to just 2-for-9 from the line, while NDSU connected on five of its nine attempts.
 
 North Dakota came out with some intensity in the first chapter of this season's rivalry game, forcing NDSU to utilize most of the shot clock on its possessions and holding the Bison to just a 1-for-6 start to take a 6-3 advantage four minutes in.
 
With Rebraca scoring all eight points through the first six minutes for UND, the Hawks kept going to the post for offense even with him on the bench. Gertautas Urbonavicius put UND in front by three, 10-7, with a baseline jumper, but a two minute scoring drought by the Hawks allowed the Bison to jump in front, 11-10, at the under-12 stoppage.
 
Rebraca kept his strong offensive start to the game going, knocking down another jumper to give him 11 of the team's 13 points, but the remainder of the offense for the Hawks continued to struggle. Outside of the Serbian, UND was shooting just 1-for-8 from the field to allow the Bison to take a 16-13 advantage with just under eight minutes to play in the period.
 
After the Bison took a five-point lead, UND responded with 10 of the next 12 points to jump in front, 23-20, with just over three minutes remaining in the half. The three ball helped aid the run for the Hawks, with Sims and Nate Shockey each drilling a triple before Sims followed with a floater in the paint that beat the shot clock to extend the lead.
 
The run kept growing for the Hawks over the next few minutes, with Rebraca scoring off a sweet feed from Ihenacho before the freshman took it to the rim himself for another score to give UND a 29-22 lead with a minute to play in the half. The Bison ended the half with the final four points of the frame to cut the UND lead to three, 29-26, after 20 minutes.
 
Out of the halftime break, the offense continued to flow through Rebraca. The Serbian knocked down his first shot of the frame before finding Nero with a pass for a jumper to extend the lead to five, 33-28, with 15:55 to go.
 
UND kept up the intensity on the defensive side out of the under-16 timeout, forcing a shot clock violation and an over-and-back turnover that led to a Brady Danielson triple to push the advantage to nine, 39-30, with 14:22 remaining on the clock.
 
The reserves went to work again with Rebraca on the bench, as Igbanugo and Urbonavicius gave the Fighting Hawks their first double-digit lead of the game, 43-33, with back-to-back baskets before the Lithuanian answered a Bison bucket by crashing the boards to convert an offensive rebound and restore the 10-point advantage, 45-35, with 11:13 to play in the contest.
 
A 5-0 run by the Bison put a brief scare into the Hawks, but the green and white answered back with five straight of its own to quickly go back up by 10. Igbanugo kept his hot stroke off the bench cooking, knocking down a triple from the corner following a sweet feed from Danielson to push the lead to double digits with 7:36 remaining.
 
With under four minutes to go, NDSU started to make its move. The Bison struck for nine straight points to cut the UND down from 50-40 to just one, 50-49, with 2:51 to play. When it looked like UND had forced a shot clock violation on the Bison, official review gave the ball back to NDSU, but the UND defense held again to maintain the lead.
 
Following a missed shot on the offensive end, NDSU moved in front for the first time since the opening half, 52-50, with 1:08 to play. On the ensuing possession, Rebraca took over with a strong drive to the hoop and finish through contact to knot the game at 52. Despite missing the free throw, Sims pulled down a huge offensive board to give UND possession with 38.7 to play.
 
A shot clock violation on UND allowed for NDSU to take possession with just over 21 ticks on the clock and the Bison took the lead by one, 54-53, following a free throw from Griesel. Off the second miss, the Hawks had a final look at the buzzer, but it rolled off and NDSU held on for the 54-53 victory.
 
North Dakota returns to action next week with a trip to Carbondale, Ill. for a pair of games against Southern Illinois on Thursday and Friday. Both games will be streamed on ESPN3.
 
For more news on UND men's basketball, visit FightingHawks.com. Follow on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @UNDmbasketball.
 
NOTES: De'Sean Allen-Eikens missed his fifth straight game with an injury … Filip Rebraca reached double figures for the 14th straight game and 43rd time of his career … Tyree Ihenacho had a career high in assists … Seybian Sims had a career high in rebounds … UND drops to 5-7 in neutral-site games against NDSU … UND still leads the all-time series 162-139 … Two of the last three meetings have been decided in the final two seconds … The rebounding battle was tied at 31.