GRAND FORKS, N.D. – North Dakota gave up a 14-0 run midway through the first half and it proved to be the difference in a 76-60 loss to Eastern Washington inside the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center on Saturday afternoon.
Mitchell Sueker was the top scorer for UND (3-8) with 17 points, trailed by
Paul Bruns netting 11 and recording three steals.
Ethan Igbanugo was just outside double figures with nine points, all coming from three-point land.
Brendan Howard also added eight, followed by
Reid Grant with a season-high six points.
Bentiu Panoam netted five points while pulling down a career-best six rebounds and a career-high three steals to go with three assists. Sueker and Igbanugo also shared the team lead in assists with Panoam with three apiece.
Brady Danielson cleaned the glass with a career-high eight rebounds while chipping in two points.
Eastern Washington (5-5) finished with four players in double figures, led by Rylan Bergersen pouring in 20 points and corralling seven rebounds.
In the game, the Eagles doubled the Hawks up in points off turnovers (22-10) and points in the paint (32-16), while UND recorded the advantage in fast break points (21-10), bench scoring (23-16) and second chance points (12-5). UND also outrebounded EWU by a 40-37 margin.
North Dakota finished with a shooting percentage of 29.9, while Eastern Washington knocked down 50.0 percent of its shots. UND also buried 12 three-pointers, compared to EWU pouring in nine makes from distance.
The Hawks had the 2-0 lead early after a layup from Danielson. It was the only lead UND would have, as EWU hit a triple on the next possession and never trailed after that point. The game was knotted up at 7-7 shortly after the first media timeout, and then EWU used a 6-0 run to go up 13-7.
North Dakota got within two at 13-11, but then gave up 14 consecutive points and found itself down 27-12 with eight minutes remaining in the opening period. Back-to-back triples shortly after from Igbanugo and Sueker later cut the deficit to 27-20 with just under six minutes left in the first half.
Eastern Washington built its lead back up to 13 at 33-20 before the teams started trading buckets. North Dakota appeared to have momentum going into intermission after Igbanugo banked in a three-pointer off an assist from Panoam to head into the break trailing by nine, 35-26.
The Fighting Hawks clawed their way back into the game six minutes into the second half, trailing 45-40 after Howard and Igbanugo both knocked down a shot from downtown. An 8-3 Eagle run over the next possessions increased the EWU lead to 53-40 with 11:40 left in the contest. The deficit hovered around the 10-point mark most of the second half and EWU led by as many as 20 (70-50) with 3:55 left in the contest. The game ended with a tally of 76-60.
North Dakota will continue its homestand on Tuesday with North Central (Minn.). The Hawks and Rams are slated for a 7 p.m. (CT) tip inside the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.
