GRAND FORKS, N.D. – North Dakota trailed No. 23 Iowa State by two at intermission, but a pair of Cyclone scoring runs in the second half allowed them to pull away for the 63-44 victory inside the Hilton Coliseum.

Caleb Grill paced the Cyclones (6-1) with 16 points, putting in 10 points in the final 20 minutes. He was also responsible for three of North Dakota's 20 turnovers, recording three steals.

Tamin Lipsey netted 11 points to go with a game-high four steals. Robert Jones was also in double figures for ISU with 10 points.

Matt Norman was the top Hawk (5-4), recording a team-high nine points while also cleaning the glass with seven rebounds. He was also responsible for a team leading three assists.

A'Jahni Levias was the next best scorer with eight points, throwing in the first five points for UND. Mitchell Sueker also added seven points.

The Cyclones were stout defensively, recording 12 steals and forcing 20 North Dakota turnovers. ISU finished with a 26-9 advantage in points off turnovers and won the statistical category of second chance points by an 18-5 margin. Iowa State recorded 38-29 edge in rebounds and a 32-16 advantage in points down low.

The Fighting Hawks shot 35.4 percent, netted seven shots from deep and went 3-for-3 at the line. The Cyclones made 42.1 percent of their shots, added seven triples and went 8-for-16 at the charity stripe.

North Dakota trailed 26-24 at intermission. Levias scored the first five points for the Fighting Hawks to put UND up 5-3 early. An 8-0 Iowa State run later in the half gave the Cyclones the advantage at 13-7 with 12:10 to go. Eaglestaff responded with a triple on the next possession to start a 7-0 North Dakota run to put the Hawks on top at 14-13. Neither team would go on a bigger run than their initial ones in the half and Iowa State held a two-point edge at intermission.

There were eight lead changes and six ties in the opening period. UND hit 41.7 percent of its shots, while ISU made 32.4 percent of its shots. Levias, Sueker and Treysen Eaglestaff shared the team lead in the first half with five points apiece. Grill, Lipsey and Gabe Kalscheur were the top scorers for the Cyclones in the opening 20 minutes, all with six points apiece.

In the early moments of the second half, Iowa State went on a 9-0 run to go up 39-27 with 14:35 left. The Cyclones put down an 11-0 run with five minutes to go to pull away at 58-39. Both teams would add five points in the final minutes to bring the final tally to 63-44.

North Dakota will visit Portland on Saturday, with the opening tip set for 7 p.m. (CT). The game will be streamed for free on the West Coast Conference Network and will be carried on the Home of Economy Radio Network.

Postgame Notes

• North Dakota is now 0-3 in the series against Iowa State.
• The opening half featured eight lead changes and six ties.
• Iowa State used runs of 9-0 and 11-0 in the second half to pull away.
• No Fighting Hawk hit double figures.
• North Dakota went 3-for-3 at the stripe.
• A'Jahni Levias scored the first five points for UND and made a career-high two triples.

How It Happened
First Half

• 15:41 – UND 5, ISU 3
• 12:10 – ISU 11, UND 7
• 7:13 – ISU 16, UND 14
• 2:56 – ISU 22, UND 20
• 0:00 – ISU 26, UND 24

Second Half

• 15:34 – ISU 36, UND 27
• 11:21 – ISU 44, UND 35
• 7:46 – ISU 50, UND 39
• 3:57 – ISU 58, UND 41
• 0:00 – ISU 63, UND 44