CANCUN, Mexico – North Dakota men's basketball rallied midway through the second half erasing a ten-point deficit with an 11-1 run, but Southeastern Louisiana answered with a 12-0 sequence as part of the Lions' 23-7 run over the final 9:24 of action to beat the Hawks 76-60 inside the ballroom of the Hard Rock Hotel. The loss drops UND to 3-4 on the season and the Hawks finish the Cancun Challenge at 1-2.
 
Trailing 52-42 with 12:34 to play, the Hawks came to life as a pair of free throws from junior forward Dariyus Woodson sparked an 8-0 run for UND that also included an unhindered drive to the bucket by junior guard Reggie Thomas on a helper from Kuljuhovic who followed with two free throws and a lay-in off glass as Thomas corralled an offensive board on a Woodson misfire. That run pulled the Hawks to within a bucket of the lead at 52-50 and just over two minutes after the run started, sophomore guard Mier Panoam drilled a trifecta on an assist by Kuljuhovic to tie the contest at 53 and stamp the 11-1 run.
 
Southeastern Louisiana responded in a game-changing way as the Lions scored the next dozen points to lead 65-53 at the 5:12 mark, before adding to it with a 9-3 sequence to increase their advantage to 74-56 with 1:07 remaining.
 
UND trailed by four at the intermission as the Hawks weathered a 46.4% shooting effort from SLU in the opening twenty minutes. UND shot 32% from the floor and hit on just four of 16 attempts from three-point range, while finishing the half at -5 in rebounding.
 
Three-point makes from junior guards Treysen Eaglestaff and Eli King gave the Hawks leads of 13-9 and 16-12, respectively, and an inside basket by Thomas on a helper from George Natsvishvili pushed UND back on top 18-17. The Lions were looking to close the half on a 16-9 run, but in the waning seconds Eaglestaff maneuvered through traffic and got a floater to go at the buzzer to send the Hawks into the break down just four.
 
North Dakota returns to play in a week as the Summit League-Big Sky Challenge tips off around the two mid-major conferences. The Hawks are on the road in Cheney, Washington, for an 8 p.m. start with Eastern Washington on Wednesday, December 4. It will be the 15th meeting all-time between the two programs and the first since 2021. The series was dominated early by UND which won five of the first six, while EWU has won six of the past eight and four straight as the series is deadlocked at 7-7. The Hawks are just 2-5 on the road at EWU with the last win coming in 2014.
 
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

• Kuljuhovic led UND with 14 points and seven rebounds and matched his career high in assists with four
• Eaglestaff followed with 13 points, two rebounds and an assist and Woodson added 11 points, two rebounds, two blocks and a steal
• Thomas recorded personal UND-best marks in rebounds (3), steals (2) and field goals made (3)
• Woodson notched personal UND-highs in field goal attempts (11) and three-point field goals attempts (9)
• The Hawks struggled from deep shooting 21.2% (7-for-33), while allowing the Lions to shoot 50% (8-for-16) from beyond-the-arc
• SLU's Sam Hines Jr. led the Lions with 17 points and Brody Rowbury followed with 13 points and eight rebounds
• UND was outrebounded 37-30 and outscored inside 26-18

How It Happened
 
First Half
16:00 – SLU 6, UND 5
11:44 – UND 13, SLU 12
7:52 – SLU 17, UND 16
3:49 – SLU 26, UND 20 (UND 1-of-last-8 FG; SLU 9-2 run over 3:28)
HALF – SLU 33, UND 29
 
Second Half
14:44 – SLU 46, UND 36 (UND scoreless 1:54, UND 1-of-last-6 3pt)
11:46 – SLU 52, UND 42 (SLU 3-of-last-4 3pt)
7:41 – SLU 57, UND 53 (UND 11-5 run)
5:34 – SLU 63, UND 53 (UND scoreless 3:52, SLU 10-0 run 3:52)
3:43 – SLU 67, UND 55 (SLU 14-2 run last 5:41)
FINAL – SLU 76, UND 60
 
For more information on North Dakota men's basketball, visit FightingHawks.com or follow on social media @UNDmbasketball.