BROOKINGS, S.D. - The University of North Dakota (4-12, 3-4 Summit) played neck-and-neck with host South Dakota State (8-3, 2-0 Summit) in the opening half and found a potent attack in the second half. However, the Jackrabbits were a volatile 65-percent from the field in the second half to extend a two-possession lead to a double-figure victory, 85-74.

UND had four scorers in double figures as Tyree Ihenacho, and Caleb Nero led the Hawks with 17 and 16 points, respectively. Filip Rebraca posted 15 points and eight rebounds, while Mitchell Sueker scored 10 points.

South Dakota State opened the game on a 16-9 run but quickly found itself on the receiving end of a Fighting Hawks run as they outscored the Jacks 16-11 after eight minutes of uninterrupted play to make it 27-25 with 7:06 left.

With both teams gassed on the floor, neither team could find a rhythm offensively in the final stretch of play as the Jackrabbits took a 33-28 lead into the halftime locker room.

UND shot 50-percent from the field in the opening 13 minutes of play, paving the way for a 41.4 field goal percentage in the period, just half a point shy of SDSU's 41.9-percent clip. Rebraca scored eight points and pulled down six rebounds to lead the Hawks, followed by Ihenacho's seven points and three assists.

While the Fighting Hawks offense had a strong showing offensively, shooting 15-of-33 from a 45.5-percent clip, South Dakota State won the battle of attrition as it shot 65-percent in the second half and amassed 52 points to North Dakota's impressive 46-point performance.

"We let our guard down in the first two to three minutes of that second half and I was disappointed about that. It's like we just relaxed and if we had had the same response like we did last night in the second half, it's a whole different ballgame," said Head Coach Paul Sather. "Some of the mental mistakes we had were tough but I loved our fight. I though we fought and we got better but just disappointed with mental breakdowns and mistakes we made."

While Rebraca maintained his steady scoring average of seven points in the second half, Ihenacho and Nero led the Fighting Hawks charge as the freshman scored 10 and Nero recorded 14. SDSU's Douglas Wilson scored 15 points in the second half and finished with 23 in the contest on 10-of-16 shooting. SDSU improved to 76-3 at Frost Arena over the last six years, the best average in Division I basketball.

The Fighting Hawks will return home next weekend on Jan. 29 and Jan. 30 when it hosts Western Illinois at The Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.