CANCUN, Mexico – A slow start out of the intermission plagued North Dakota men's basketball on Tuesday afternoon inside the ballroom of the Hard Rock Hotel at the Riviera Maya resort in Cancun. A 46-41 Bethune-Cookman advantage at the break grew to a dozen points as the Wildcats, representing the Southwester Athletic Conference, used a 12-0 run across both halves to set in motion a final twenty minutes that was controlled by BCU in a 79-67 victory.
 
The Hawks (3-3) cooled off from the floor in the second half, connecting on only a pair of three-point attempts in 15 tries from deep. The Wildcats' lead never grew to more than 13 points in the second half, but the Hawks only managed to get as close as eight points on three occasions following BCU's aforementioned run post break.
 
Junior guard Treysen Eaglestaff, who finished with a team-high 20 points, converted an and-1 opportunity at the 10:08 mark of the second half and added a layup with 7:40 remaining. Those were the lone field goals for the Hawks in nearly a 7:30 stretch of game play as the Wildcats, who also struggled from the floor during that time, managed to grow their advantage to 73-60 with under three minutes to play.
 
Turnovers cost the Hawks in the early going as the opening 5:30 of action saw BCU turn five UND turnovers into ten points as the Wildcats led 12-7 at the under-16 media. The Hawks' last lead of the day came at the 10:28 mark with UND up 22-21. North Dakota shot 44% from the floor in the first half and connected on five of 16 shot attempts from range but was unable to slow a 50% shooting effort from the Wildcats in the period as BCU led by five at the half behind a 17-point outburst from the Wildcats' Brayon Freeman who finished with a game-high 26.
 
UND's stay in Cancun ends on Wednesday as the Fighting Hawks meet Southeastern Louisiana at 11:30 a.m. in the consolation contest of the Mayan bracket. It will be the first meeting all-time between the two programs and the first matchup for the Hawks against a Pelican State foe since tipping off against New Orleans in last season's Central Arkansas Classic.
 
Fans can follow the action live with Fighting Hawks men's basketball radio play-by-play voice Paul Ralston on KSNR 100.3 FM The Cat or on the iHeart Radio app. The action can be seen on FloCollege and live stats for the contest will be available at www.FightingHawks.com.
 
Postgame Notes

• BCU's 38.9% effort from three-point range is the best against the Hawks, who entered as the nation's leader in perimeter defense, this season and the highest rate an opponent has hit from deep
• For the Hawks, the squad's 22.6% clip from three-point range is its lowest effort of the season
• Eaglestaff has made three shots from range in each of his last four games with his career total of such games growing to 32
• UND finished with seven steals for the third time this season and recorded three or more blocks for the fifth time in six games
• The Hawks finished +6 in rebounding marking a positive margin in a game for the fourth time this season
• Junior guard Mier Panoam followed with a career-best 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting
• Senior forwards Amar Kuljuhovic and Brian Matthews both corralled a team-leading eight rebounds
• BCU finished +5 in points off of turnovers and +10 in paint points

How It Happened
 
First Half
15:25 – BCU 12, UND 7 (UND 5 TOs, BCU 10 PoT)
12:07 – UND 18, BCU 14 (UND 11-2 run 3:35, BCU scoreless last 2:01)
7:58 – BCU 30, UND 26 (BCU 6-of-last-7 FG, Freeman 14 pts)
3:49 – BCU 34, UND 30
HALF – BCU 46, UND 41
 
Second Half
18:05 – BCU 53, UND 41 (BCU 7-0 run to start 2^nd half, 12-0 run last 3:08)
14:39 – BCU 55, UND 45 (UND 1-for-last-13 3pt FG)
11:26 – BCU 63, UND 50 (BCU's Thomas 4-for-4 3pt FG)
7:17 – BCU 68, UND 59 (UND 1-for-last-5)
3:35 – BCU 71, UND 60 (BCU 1-for-last-9, UND scoreless last 3:25)
2:05 – BCU 73, UND 62
FINAL – BCU, 79, UND 67
 
For more information on North Dakota men's basketball, visit FightingHawks.com or follow on social media @UNDmbasketball.