by GRAND FORKS, N.D. – North Dakota fell 81-71 to Montana State on Sunday inside the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. The Hawks were outscored 37-27 in the first half and both teams added 44-44 in the second half.
Two Bobcats (3-2) finished with double-doubles. Jubrile Belo poured in 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, while Caleb Fuller added 16 points to go with 10 rebounds.
RaeQuan Battle threw down a game-high 30 points, netting 17 points alone in the first half.
Mitchell Sueker paced the Fighting Hawks (2-3) with 18 points, grabbing a team-high six rebounds.
B.J. Omot chipped in a season-high 14 points, while knocking down two triples and two shot rejections.
Treysen Eaglestaff was the only other Hawk to hit double digits with 10 points and three makes from deep, while also rejecting two shots.
In the game, UND made 44.1 percent of its shots (26-for-59) while MSU knocked down 50.8 percent (30-for-59). North Dakota made seven triples to Montana State’s four. The Bobcats finished with a 36-29 advantage in rebounds, while also adding a 46-34 advantage down low.
The Fighting Hawks held a 10-9 edge at the first media timeout, with Omot pouring in six points and Sueker adding four. The Bobcats then went on a 16-8 run to go up 25-18 with under seven minutes remaining in the opening half. Montana State locked down on defense in the final four and a half minutes of the period, only allowing three points for North Dakota, which came from Eaglestaff on a triple. At the break, MSU led 37-27.
In the first half, North Dakota shot 32.1 percent, making nine of 28 shots. Montana State hit 51.6 percent of its shots, going 13-for-31 in the opening 20 minutes. The Bobcats had a 24-10 advantage in points down low to go with a 20-15 edge in rebounds. Tsartsidze, Omot and Sueker all had a team-high six points at the break for UND, while Battle poured in 17 of his points.
North Dakota trimmed the deficit down to eight on multiple occasions on the second half and trailed by seven at 58-51 following an Eaglestaff triple but it was not enough as UND fell 81-71.
