GRAND FORKS, N.D. – Ethan Igbanugo knocked down two free throws late to put North Dakota up 68-67 with 41 seconds left, but Western Illinois went 3-of-8 at the charity stripe in the final 18 seconds to get the 70-68 win at Western Hall on Saturday afternoon.
Paul Bruns nearly had a double-double for the Fighting Hawks (6-21, 2-12 SL), pouring in 20 points and grabbing nine rebounds. Of his 20 points, nine of them came from three-point land.
Bentiu Panoam and
Brady Danielson were the other Hawks in double figures with 14 points apiece, both knocking down three triples. Panoam had a team-high three steals to go with four boards and three assists. Danielson's 14 points was a season-high while nabbing three rebounds and dishing out one assist.
Igbanugo just missed double digits, netting eight points, four rebounds, two assists and a block.
Luka Barisic was the top scorer in the game with 21 points, 14 rebounds and one assist to lead Western Illinois (15-11, 6-8 SL).
Tamell Pearson threw in 14 points and Will Carius added 12. Trenton Massner was the final Leatherneck in double figures with 10 points and led WIU in assists (4), steals (3) and blocks (1).
The game featured 12 lead changes and eight ties. The Fighting Hawks shot 38.6 percent from the field, knocked down 11 trifectas and went 13-of-21 at the free throw line. Comparatively, the Fighting Leathernecks went 42.1 percent from the floor, added five triples and finished 17-of-30 at the charity stripe.
WIU held a 49-32 rebounding advantage and outscored UND 30-22 in the paint. The Fighting Hawk bench outscored the Leatherneck reserves by a 13-6 margin.
Western Illinois led for most of the second half and a part of its game-plan was attacking the North Dakota bigs, fouling out Danielson with 6:30 remaining and
Brian Mathews with just over three minutes left.
Despite attacking the Fighting Hawks down low, North Dakota claimed its first lead of the second half with a triple from Igbanugo with 2:40 left to put UND up 64-63. It was North Dakota's first lead since being up 35-34 with 42 seconds to go before halftime.
WIU reclaimed the lead following two jumpers at 67-64 but a layup by
Tsotne Tsartsidze and two makes at the free throw line from Igbanugo put NoDak back up 68-64 with 41 seconds remaining.
In the final seconds, Western Illinois went 3-of-8 at the charity stripe. Despite the free throw struggles for Western Illinois, they proved why they lead the Summit League in total offensive rebounds,grabbing three offensive rebounds after misses in key moments down the stretch.
North Dakota had a shot at the end with a deep three from Igbanugo, but it fell short, allowing the Western Illinois to hold on for the victory.
The game started with the teams exchanging runs. The lead changed hands a total of eight times in the opening 20-minute period, with the score also being tied at four occasions. By intermission, North Dakota trailed 36-35. The leading scorers were Danielson with 11 for UND and Barisic with 16 for WIU.
North Dakota will now return home for the final four games of the regular season. The four-game homestand will begin with Kansas City on Thursday at 7 p.m. (CT) inside the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. The game will be carried by Bally Sports North and aired on the Home of Economy Radio Network.
