GRAND FORKS, N.D. – The North Dakota men's basketball team suffered its first home conference loss of the season on Thursday night, falling to St. Thomas by a score of 91-80 at Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. The Hawks move to 9-12 overall and 3-2 in Summit League play, while St. Thomas improves to 15-4 and 4-0 in conference play.

UND trailed by just one-point at halftime, forcing the Tommies into 13 turnovers in the first 20 minutes. St. Thomas outscored UND 54-44 in the second half, turning the ball over just two times in the second, shooting 16-of-24 (66.7%) from the field in and 9-for-13 (69.2%) from deep in the second frame.

Four Hawks scored in double figures, led by Anthony Smith lll and Greyson Uelmen who had 19 points apiece. The 19 points from Smith lll were a career-high. Eli King and Garrett Anderson each had 11 points.

Overall, each team had 15 turnovers. UND shot 25-of-55 (45.5%) from the field and 7-for-19 (36.8%) from three, while the Tommies shot season-highs 65.1% from the floor (28-of-43) and 66.7% from deep (16-for-24).

The first 3:36 of the game was all Tommies, as the Hawks fell behind 16-5 early, courtesy of 4-of-4 shooting from behind the arc by St. Thomas.

Slowly but surely, UND got itself right back in the basketball game. Smith lll brought a great spark off the bench, scoring a team-high 15 points in the first half. UND went on a 20-7 run over the next 9:00 of action, to take a 25-23 advantage. North Dakota forced nine turnovers during that nine-minute period.

From there, the teams stayed within one-possession for the rest of the half. Uelmen scored a bucket in the paint with 1:19 to play to give UND a 36-34 lead, before Austin Herro hit a deep triple with 48 seconds left, to give St. Thomas a 37-36 lead going into the break.

UND struck first in the second half, via a King made tip-in basket, to put the Hawks in front at 38-37. The two teams exchanged blows, before a King three-point play, tied the game up at 44-44 with 15:01 to play.

That was the last time UND was tied or would have the lead. The Hawks stayed within two possessions of the Tommies, until Nick Janowski hit one of his five-second half threes with 11:34 to play, to give St. Thomas a 56-49 lead.

It came down to UND getting stops and in the second half  and that became a struggle. North Dakota was able to come away with points on offensive possessions, but found itself trading baskets. NoDak was able to get the Tommies lead down to as little as six at 60-54 with 9:27 to play, but St. Thomas got it back to a double figures game with 8:11 left, following a Janowski three. St. Thomas led 65-55.

The offensive fire power from St. Thomas was a little too much for UND in the second half. North Dakota hung around, but trailed by no less than 10 in the final 6:30 of the ball game. Janowski (32) and Nolan Minessale (27) combined for 59 points in the contest, while Herro dished out 10 assists and had seven steals for the Tommies. UND fell in a battle, 91-80.

NoDak will be back in action on Saturday against South Dakota at 1 p.m. Coverage can be found on Midco Sports and The Summit League Network.

Postgame Notes

• UND drops to 10-12 all-time against UST
• The Hawks four-game home winning streak comes to an end
• NoDak forced 15 turnovers, St. Thomas's second highest amount this season
• Smith lll scored a career-high 19 points on 8-of-15 shooting
• NoDak had 17 points off turnovers compared to 21 from UST
• North Dakota shot 23-of-30 from the charity stripe, compared to 19-for-34 from St. Thomas
• UND outrebounded the Tommies 31-26
• Uelmen attempted 10 or more free throws for the third time in a game this season
• King has had two or more steals in four straight games and 17 times overall this season
• Anderson has eight steals over his last three games

How It Happened
First Half
15:24 UST 16, UND 5
12:00 UST 21, UND 11
7:42 UST 23, UND 20
3:30 UST 30, UND 27
Halftime: UST 37, UND 36
 
Second Half
15:30 UST 41, UND 41
12:00 UST 53, UND 48
7:50 UST 65, UND 57
3:14 UST 82, UND 68
Final: UST 91, UND 80

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