LINCOLN, NEB. – In a contest that UND led for 18:46 of game-time, the North Dakota men's basketball fell to the No. 15 Nebraska Cornhuskers, by a score of 78-55 on Sunday night from Pinnacle Bank Arena. UND drops to 5-10, while Nebraska improves to 12-0.

The Hawks led for nearly the entire first half, holding an advantage for 18:13 of the 20 minutes. They led by as many as nine, holding Nebraska to 2-for-18 from deep in the first half and 6-of-27 overall.

NoDak was led offensively by Eli King, who tallied 13 points, six rebounds and one steal. Marley Curtis returned to the lineup, contributing with 10 points and six rebounds in 17 minutes of work off the bench.

UND fell behind 2-0, but went on a 13-2 run to claim its largest lead of the game at 13-4 with 13:27 left in the first half. Eight of those 13 points came via King, who knocked down two early triples and had a breakaway dunk off a steal. The other five points came via Greyson Uelmen (2) and Curtis (3).

The Cornhuskers began the game 0-for-10 from three, finally connecting on one with 8:58 left in the first half, to trim the North Dakota lead to 16-11.

The Hawks held off Nebraska for the entire first half, holding a 24-18 lead with 1:45 remaining, when Josh Jones came up with a steal. With a chance to push the lead to three possessions, Jones turned the ball over in the half court, leading to a Nebraska fast break leak out and score to make it 24-20. Jones fouled Braden Frager while Frager made the layup, giving Nebraska a chance at a three-point play. The Cornhuskers made it 24-21 following the free-throw.

Garrett Anderson scored a basket in the paint to make it 26-21, which was followed by three-straight points from the home team, to give UND a 26-24 lead at the break. It was UND's third straight time leading Nebraska at the half in their matchups. North Dakota shot 10-of-32 from the field and the Cornhuskers shot 9-for-32.

Out of the half, the Cornhuskers scored the first six points, gaining their first lead since 2-0, and held a 30-26 lead with 18:20 remaining. This led to a quick timeout from head coach Paul Sather.
After the timeout, the Hawks responded with five unanswered points of their own, headlined by a nice scoop layup from Anthony Smith lll and a corner three from Anderson, to regain a 31-30 lead with 16:22 remaining.

Nebraska then went on a 13-1 run in the next 5:10 to take a 43-32 lead. UND had some more juice in the tank, scoring the next five points, courtesy of a Wylee Delorme corner triple and a Curtis euro step to the cup, making it 43-37 at the 10:01 point.

Another haymaker was thrown by the home team, going on an 11-1 run over the next 2:42, to open up a 54-38 lead on UND. North Dakota was able to respond with six-straight of its own, as Uelmen hit back-to-back three pointers from the left-wing area, to get the deficit down to 54-44 with 6:42 to play.

That was as close as the Fighting Hawks would get for the rest of the game. Nebraska used an 11-2 run to open up a 65-46 lead with 4:12 to play. The Cornhuskers would end up winning by a 78-55 margin, shooting 19-for-30 from the field in the second half compared to 9-of-25 from UND. 26 of Nebraska's 54 second half points came in the paint.

North Dakota will be back in action on Dec. 28 against Dakota State at home, with tip-off set for 1 p.m.

Postgame Notes

• UND falls to 2-5 all-time against Nebraska
• It was UND's fifth time this season leading at halftime and the third straight time leading at the break against Nebraska
• King posted his third straight game with at least 10 points and five rebounds
• The 24 points allowed in the first half were the second lowest North Dakota has given up in a half this season and the lowest total against a division l opponent
• UND had 10 or more assists for the ninth time this season, posting 13 on the night
• Four players had at least two assists in Smith lll (4), Anderson (3), Uelmen (2) and Reggie Thomas (2)
• Nebraska had 22 assists, tied for the most against UND this season
• NoDak held a lead for 18:46 of the game, compared to 19:01 for the Cornhuskers
• UND had zero second chance points, while Nebraska had six
• Nebraska scored 40 points in the paint in contrast to 16 from the Hawks
• UND had two points off of six Nebraska turnovers and Nebraska had 15 points off of 12 NoDak turnovers
• After missing last game, Curtis posted his sixth double-digit scoring performance with 10 points and his sixth outing with two or more made three pointers
• North Dakota held Nebraska to 6-of-27 from deep, with the six three balls being tied for a season low for the Cornhuskers
• Nebraska won the rebounding battle 42-30
• UND shot 19-of-57 from the field and 10-for-29 from behind the arc

How It Happened
First Half
15:40 UND 8, NEB 2
11:15 UND 13, NEB 6
7:06 UND 16, NEB 11
2:21 UND 21, NEB 17
Halftime: UND 26, NEB 24

Second Half
15:40 NEB 32, UND 31
8:44 NEB 47, UND 37
7:19 NEB 52, UND 38
3:49 NEB 65, UND 49
Final: NEB 78, UND 55

For more information on North Dakota men's basketball, visit FightingHawks.com or follow on social media @UNDmbasketball.
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