GRAND FORKS, N.D. – It was a tale of two halves for North Dakota men's basketball on Thursday night inside the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center as the Fighting Hawks carried  a 51-49  lead  into  the break following a three-point barrage by both benches in the opening twenty but then suffered a significant scoring drought over the course of the game's final ten minutes as South Dakota rallied past UND 102-93 in Summit League action.
 
An early six points from sophomore guard Mier Panoam, who finished with a game-high 25 points on 10-of-16 shooting, on drives to the basketball aided UND's dictation of the first four minutes of play and helped set the tone for the Hawks offensively in the first half. The two sides found plenty of success from beyond-the-arc in the first half as the two benches combined for 15 made three-point shots with the Hawks accounting for seven with three coming courtesy of junior forward Dariyus Woodson.
 
The Hawks' largest lead of the night came on a successful triple try from junior guard Eli King who beat an expiring shot clock for a 36-27 UND lead with 7:39 to play in the first half.
 
Ball movement was key early for the Hawks with Woodson benefiting from several passes on his first three-point make in addition to receiving a helper from sophomore George Natsvishvili on a near no-look pass to the cutter who finished. Natsvishvili also aided King on the aforementioned buzzer-beater.
 
Out of the intermission, sophomore forward Mambourou Mara, who opened scoring in the contest with a corner three, impacted the Hawks early on offensively with a pair of rim-rocking dunks and a baseline triple for a quick seven points out of the intermission and a five-point UND advantage at the 17:47 mark of the second half.
 
A trifecta from the stroke of junior guard Treysen Eaglestaff kept the Hawks in front by seven (66-59, 15:13), while a drive to the basket by Panoam (69-61, 13:49) pushed UND up eight with just under 14 minutes to play. Panoam again scored on a driving layup to keep the Coyotes at bay as UND held a 76-72 lead at the 11:08 mark. However, the Hawks would encounter trouble on the offensive end as USD engineered a 20-6 run to grab a ten-point lead with just over two minutes remaining, while the Hawks managed to pull as close as nine down the stretch.  
  
North Dakota prepares for its annual trip south to face longtime bitter rival North Dakota State on Saturday in Fargo. The two Peace Garden State foes tangle for the 310^th time in a series that began in March of 1905. UND leads the all-time series 164-145 and is 60-88 against the Bison in Fargo. NDSU won last year's matchup at home by five points, while UND used a last second shot from Amar Kuljuhovic to beat the Bison 60-58 in Grand Forks. The win snapped a four-game losing streak to NDSU. Saturday's matchup is set for 4 p.m. from inside Scheels Arena.
 
The action can be seen on Midco Sports and the Summit League Network. 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. Live stats for the contest will be available at www.FightingHawks.com.
 
Postgame Notes

• UND netted a season-high 36 shots, while its 50.7% shooting clip is the third highest by the Hawks this season
• The Hawks hit ten threes for just the second time in Summit League play
• UND crossed over 90 points for the fourth time this season and second in Summit action
• North Dakota's 11 offensive rebounds are its fewest in a game this season since recording five against Colorado State in the season opener
• UND's 17 assists are the second most in a game this season
• Panoam's scoring output is his sixth 20+ point game of the season and fifth in seven Summit League games
• Panoam matched his career high in assists with his second seven-assist game of the season
• Eaglestaff finished with 17 points as he crossed into double-figure scoring for the 56^th time in his career and he added three steals and three assists
• Woodson added 11 points as he finished with ten or more for the 13^th time this season in addition to hitting three or more three-point shots for the sixth time
• Mara finished with ten points as he crossed into double-figure scoring for the second time in his career
• Mara equaled his career-best outputs in blocks (2) and three-pointers made (2)
• Amar Kuljuhovic led UND with 11 rebounds and added eight points
• USD placed six players in double figures led by Chase Forte's 25 and Isaac Bruns' 20
• USD shot 58% from the floor and made 46% (11-of-24) of its three-point attempts
• The Coyotes turned 13 UND turnovers, the most by the Hawks in Summit League play, into 15 points

 
How It Happened
 
First Half
15:43 – UND 9, USD 6 (UND's Panoam 6 pts)
10:20 – UND 27, USD 25 (UND's Woodson 11 pts; USD 7-of-last-8 FGs)
7:45 – UND  33, USD 27 (UND 6-0 run over 1:35)
4:00 – UND 40, USD 38 (11 combined 3pt FGs)
HALF – UND 51, USD 49
 
Second Half
15:01 – UND 66, USD 59 (UND's Mara 7 pts in 2H)
11:57 – UND 73, USD 70 (USD 4-of-last-4 FGs)
8:44 – UND 77, USD 76 (UND 0-of-last-4 FGs)
3:37 – USD 90, UND 79 (USD 16-2 run over 6:17; UND 1-of-last-15 FGs)
FINAL – USD 102, UND 93
 
For more information on North Dakota men's basketball, visit FightingHawks.com or follow on social media @UNDmbasketball.