SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The slipper still fits. No. 6 seed North Dakota used stout defense and balanced scoring to defeat No. 7 seed Purdue Fort Wayne, 73-56, in the semifinals of the Summit League Tournament on Monday night in Sioux Falls.
 
UND (15-17) shot exactly 50% from the field and hit 11 shots from distance while holding the Mastodons (14-19) to just 30.8% from the field to advance to the final against top-seeded North Dakota State.
 
Just a night after a senior led the Fighting Hawks to an upset victory, it was another senior, Kienan Walter, who guided the green and white to victory with a game-high 20 points on 5-of-10 shooting while grabbing nine rebounds and dishing out three assists. Marlon Stewart finished with 15 points, including a trio of threes, four assists and four rebounds while leading the squad with a +24 rating.
 
Filip Rebraca was up to his old tricks once again, notching his 13th double-double of the season with a 14-point, 10-rebound effort. The sophomore hit six of his eight attempts from the field and dished out a pair of assists to move into sole possession of second place in UND's Division I history with 15 career double-doubles.
 
De'Sean Allen-Eikens finished as the final Fighting Hawk in double figures with 10 points and four rebounds to move within just 16 points of breaking Troy Huff's freshman scoring record at UND.
 
Walter and the Fighting Hawks were off to a strong start from the field once again, with the senior scoring all 11 of UND's points to start the game, including a trio of triples, to give the green and white an 11-5 lead with 16:25 to play in the first half.
 
The advantage extended to 13-7 before a 4-0 run by the Mastodons, aided by a nearly three minute scoring drought by the Hawks, cut the deficit to just a basket, 13-11, but Allen-Eikens responded with five straight of his own to put the Hawks back in front, 18-11, with just under 11 minutes to play in the opening stanza.
 
UND kept its foot on the gas through the middle portion of the first half, extending the run to 10 straight points on a second triple by Allen-Eikens and a bucket in the paint by Rebraca to give the Hawks a 23-11 lead with nine minutes to play. The defense was strong as well, holding the hot-shooting Mastodons to just 1-of-9 from distance to start the half.
 
After extending the lead to as high as 15, 26-11, Purdue Fort Wayne started to dig in defensively by holding the Hawks scoreless for four minutes and striking for eight straight of its own to claw the deficit down to seven, 26-19, with 3:55 remaining in the period. Stewart ended the run only momentarily with a three, his first points of the game, but the Dons struck for six straight with the senior on the bench to cut it to four, 29-25, with 1:06 to go in the half. Rebraca ended the half with a three-point play to send the Hawks to the locker room leading by seven, 32-25.
 
UND went right to work once again to open the second half, scoring 10 of the first 12 points and drawing six fouls to enter the bonus and take a 42-27 lead less than four minutes into the frame. Much like the first half, Purdue Fort Wayne went on a little run by scoring seven straight to the lead back to six, 44-38, with 12:03 to go.
 
The Hawks answered the punches thrown by the Mastodons with a spurt of their own, capped off by a Billy Brown triple off a slick pass from Stewart, to push the advantage back to 13, 51-38, with just over 10 minutes to play. A balanced attack and strong defense kept the green and white in front by 18, 65-47, through the next seven minutes, as Stewart and Rebraca each tallied a pair of baskets before a driving layup by Ethan Igbanugo and a triple by Walter put the game out of reach.
 
North Dakota will advance to the Summit League Championship Game for the first time in program history against the No. 1 seed and in-state rival North Dakota State at 8 p.m. on Tuesday evening from Sioux Falls.
 
NOTES: UND improves to 16-6 in conference tournaments since moving to Division I in 2008 … Tuesday will be the fifth conference championship, third since being eligible in 2012-13, in UND's DI history … Marlon Stewart has reached double figures in 25 straight games to extend the program's DI record … The 56 points allowed by UND are the third lowest in a conference tournament game since 2008 … The Hawks are now 13-4 against conference foes not located along I-29 … UND won the rebounding battle, 36-33 … Ethan Igbanugo scored a season-high eight points … The 19.4% from three by the Mastodons was a season-low allowed by UND and the second time they have allowed less than 30% from three against PFW this season … Tuesday will be the 300th all-time meeting between North Dakota and North Dakota State.