FARGO, N.D. – The North Dakota men's basketball team lost its final game of the 2025-26 regular season to North Dakota State, 96-63 on Saturday evening from Scheels Center. NoDak now sits at 16-16 overall and 10-6 in conference play, while NDSU improves to 24-7 and 14-2 in the league.

The first 10 minutes of the game were really strong for UND, leading by as many as nine. The Hawks forced nine first half turnovers from the Bison, but shot just 19-for-61 (31.1%) from the field as a team overall.

Greyson Uelmen led the way with 12 points, followed by Matthew Bothun, who tallied eight points on 3-of-5 shooting. Bothun hit two triples, as the Hawks shot 7-for-34 from downtown, compared to 16-of-29 from deep for the Bison. Tay Smith from NDSU scored 28 points, going 7-of-11 from deep.

First Half
North Dakota jumped out to a 5-0 lead, courtesy of a George Natsvlishvili layup and Garrett Anderson three. The Hawks had a 7-2 lead at the under-four media timeout with 15:46 to play.

UND led 17-8 following a three-point play from Anthony Smith lll, and took a 21-14 advantage after a made basket from Uelmen with 8:59 to play. 3:18 later, NDSU tied it up for the first time of the game, when Markhi Strickland threw down a dunk with 5:41 to play, evening the score at 25-25.

Zach Kraft's three-pointer with 6:49 to play was the last made field goal of the half for the Hawks, as NDSU ended the frame on a 23-6 run, owning a 44-31 lead at the break. UND went 9-of-28 from the field in the first 20 minutes, led by seven points apiece from Uelmen and Smith lll.

Second Half
The Bison scored the first four points of the second half, opening up a 17-point advantage. The Hawks would get the lead down to 15, trailing 50-35 after a pair of free throws each, from Natsvlishvili and Uelmen with 16:46 to play.

NDSU scored the next five points to go up 20, before King gave the Hawks their first field goal since the 6:49 mark in the first half, scoring with 14:11 left off an out of bounds play, as NDSU led 55-37. After the King bucket, the Bison responded with a 9-1 run, to take a 64-38 lead, forcing UND to burn a timeout with 12:55 to play.

The Hawks would not get the Bison lead under 22 points, although Bothun scored eight consecutive points, to make the score 68-46 with 10:52 to play.

UND trailed by as many as 35, falling by a score of 96-63 in Fargo. The Hawks will be the three-seed in the Summit League Tournament, squaring off against the six-seeded Denver Pioneers on Friday in Sioux Falls.

Postgame Notes

• UND drops to 165-148 all-time against NDSU, falling to 7-8 on the road
• NoDak drops to 10-6 in conference play and 5-3 on the road in SL play
• Uelmen scored in double figures for the 15th consecutive game, leading the team in scoring for the seventh straight contest
• North Dakota was outrebounded 36=27 in the game
• UND was outscored by 27 points from three-point range, going 7-for-34 compared to 16-of-29 from NDSU
• NDSU had 15 points off turnovers compared to six from UND
• NoDak had 33 bench points, while NDSU had 20
• The Bison had 11 second chance points compared to seven from UND
• North Dakota State won the paint battle, 30-24

How It Happened
First Half
15:42 UND 7, NDSU 2
11:41 UND 16, NDSU 8
7:13 UND 22, NDSU 19
3:25 NDSU 32, UND 27
Halftime: NDSU 44, UND 31
 
Second Half
15:40 NDSU 53, UND 35
10:50 NDSU 68, UND 46
4:52 NDSU 81, UND 52
3:42 NDSU 82, UND 55
Final: NDSU 96, UND 63
 
For more information on North Dakota men's basketball, visit FightingHawks.com or follow on social media @UNDmbasketball.
-- UND --