GRAND FORKS, N.D. – The North Dakota men's basketball team lost to the North Dakota State Bison, 83-66 on Saturday afternoon from Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. UND drops to 15-14 and 9-4 in Summit League play, while North Dakota State improves to 21-6 overall and 11-1 in the league.

It was a tale of two halves, with UND leading by one at the break, before being outscored 52-34 in the second half. NoDak shot it at a 50.0% clip (12-of-24), making five three pointers in the final 20 minutes, but allowed NDSU to shoot 18-for-28 (64.3%) and 7-of-12 (58.3%) from deep.

Greyson Uelmen paced the Hawks with 16 points and four assists, followed by Eli King with 12 points and six rebounds. Garrett Anderson returned to the lineup after missing three consecutive games, scoring 11 points, going 3-for-8 from deep.

North Dakota led for 13:17 of the first half, up by as many as six, jumping out to a 13-7 lead. King (6), Anderson (5) and Uelmen (2) had all of those 13 points.

NDSU got right back into it, using a 7-0 run to capture a 14-13 lead by the under 12:00 media timeout. The Bison led by as many as four in the first, owning a 21-17 lead with 8:23 to play.

UND answered with a 7-0 run over the next 4:01, to go ahead 24-21. Both teams then remained within one possession of each other for the rest of the half, with Matthew Bothun's three-pointer with 34 seconds left giving North Dakota a 32-31 lead at halftime.

The Bison blitzed UND in the second half, opening the frame on a 9-2 run in the first 2:40, as Markhi Strickland had back-to-back dunks, forcing the Fighting Hawks to burn a timeout. UND trailed 40-32.

Anderson stopped the bleeding for NoDak briefly, connecting on a three-pointer to cut the score to 40-37, but NDSU answered that with a 9-0 run, opening up a 49-37 advantage. Overall, it was an 18-5 run in the first 5:22 of the half for the Bison.

The Fighting Hawks did their best to make it a game, but couldn't get the NDSU lead under seven. Right when the Hawks got the score to 49-42, the Bison responded with four straight points, making it 53-42 with 12:33.

North Dakota's best chance down the stretch came while trailing 63-55 with 7:50 left. The Hawks forced a miss on the next two trips up the court from the Bison, but failed to convert on their two offensive possessions, which resulted in a turnover and a missed three-pointer. Damari Wheeler-Thomas made UND pay, hitting a three-pointer with 6:17 to play, making it 66-55.

NoDak couldn't get it back under double digits, trailing by as many as 18. UND would fall by a score of 83-66.

The Green and White will play its last home game of the season, honoring three seniors on Thursday against Kansas City at 7 p.m.

Postgame Notes

• UND falls to 165-147 all-time against NDSU
• The loss snaps a two-game winning streak the Hawks had over the Bison
• The Fighting Hawks drop their second-straight home game, falling to 8-7 at home
• Overall, NoDak shot 22-of-51 from the field and 8-of-24 from deep
• NDSU was 30-for-54 from the floor and 10-of-25 from three
• The Bison had 20 assists compared to UND's 10
• UND had 26 points in the paint, while NDSU had 40
• North Dakota State won the second chance points battle, 19-7
• NoDak was out rebounded 36-23
• The 66 points scored were the least since Dec. 21, 2025
• Uelmen recorded his 12th straight game with 10 or more points
• King had two or more steals for the 24th time this season

How It Happened
First Half
15:11 UND 9, NDSU 5
11:08 NDSU 14, UND 13
7:07 NDSU 21, UND 17
2:58 UND 26, NDSU 23
Halftime: UND 32, NDSU 31
 
Second Half
15:34 NDSU 45, UND 37
11:34 NDSU 55, UND 45
7:25 NDSU 63, UND 55
3:03 NDSU 73, UND 62
Final: NDSU 83, UND 66

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