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Feb. 7—GRAND FORKS — UND redshirt sophomore guard Zach Kraft hit a 3-pointer, and redshirt freshman guard Greyson Uelmen put in a layup on the next possession.
The Fighting Hawks, who had trailed Denver by as many as 19 points in the second half, were suddenly down by just seven with 7 minutes, 22 seconds remaining.
The crowd at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center roared. Another late-game comeback seemed in reach for the Hawks on Saturday afternoon.
UND, missing two starters in junior center Josh Jones and senior guard Garrett Anderson, immediately relinquished its momentum.
The Pioneers responded with a 13-4 run and finished strong, cruising to a 98-79 win over the Hawks.
"I think you can always find a reason to look for an excuse," head coach Paul Sather said. "I just felt like it's really hard to come back down 18 on a team in conference play, and we did a pretty good job of doing that, whether it was five or seven (points), and we didn't continue to take advantage of some opportunities. ... We weren't that connected of a group that we've been, and we didn't close that run we were trying to make in that second half."
Denver, hot off the heels of a 78-71 win over North Dakota State, moved to 12-14 overall and 5-6 in Summit League play.
The Pioneers' offense proved potent. They shot 58.3% from the field and Jeremiah Burke, Logan Kinsey and guard Carson Johnson each scored 20 or more points.
"I've said all along, I think they are a terrific offensive team," Sather said. "Very difficult team to defend. And tonight, I felt like we helped them, in a sense, in a lot of this game."
UND had to dig deeper into its bench without Jones, who stands at 6-foot-9, and Anderson, who is 6-foot-6.
While junior forward George Natsvlishvili got the start at the five, the Hawks turned to freshman forward Marley Curtis off the bench to get length on the court. He provided a spark, playing for 15 minutes and scoring 14 points.
"It was something we just threw at him yesterday, so I thought he did a really good job with that," Sather said.
Sather described Anderson's injury as day-to-day at last Wednesday's press conference. It is unclear when Jones, who suffered an arm injury against Omaha on Thursday, will return.
"He's going to be out for the near future, for the next few days," Sather said. "But we don't know. There's a lot of things that still have to be determined here coming up this next week."
The Hawks entered Saturday's contest with a new starting lineup for the second game in a row. And for the second game in a row, they got off to a slow start.
Denver jumped out to an early 16-5 lead through the first six minutes and entered halftime with a 43-27 advantage.
"It gives you a different look that you weren't prepared for," Curtis said. "Losing Josh and having one practice before this game was definitely different. Omaha, not having Garrett, was different. So I think that plays a part. But we've just got to be more ready to go. Stuff is going to get thrown at you, you've just got to roll with it."
The Hawks' missing length was somewhat evident on the glass, where Denver outrebounded the hosts 40-25.
The Pioneers' presence on the boards was also helped out by UND's early offensive struggles.
The Hawks shot 31% from the field in the first half and 1-for-11 from deep. They ended the day shooting 3-for-21 from 3-point range.
"They did a pretty good job of making shots when we did," Sather said. "It's a difference of 11 field goals made. And I think that's where you see the (rebounding) discrepancy a little bit. Our problem at times was rebounding because they ended up with 12 offensive rebounds on only about 25 misses, which is way too many. It's too high of a percentage of rebounds for their misses."
Uelmen was one of the bright spots for UND offensively. He shot 10-for-19 and tallied a team-high 24 points.
Freshman guard Anthony Smith III and Natsvlishvili each scored 12 points.
The loss snaps a five-game winning streak for the Hawks, who fell to 14-13 overall and 8-3 in conference play. They'll head back on the road this Wednesday to take on South Dakota.
"We've got to have two really good practices before South Dakota," Curtis said. "We've got to get back to what we were doing before when we were on the road, just this last week, and we've just got to get back to our habits and forget about this one."
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The Fighting Hawks, who had trailed Denver by as many as 19 points in the second half, were suddenly down by just seven with 7 minutes, 22 seconds remaining.
The crowd at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center roared. Another late-game comeback seemed in reach for the Hawks on Saturday afternoon.
UND, missing two starters in junior center Josh Jones and senior guard Garrett Anderson, immediately relinquished its momentum.
The Pioneers responded with a 13-4 run and finished strong, cruising to a 98-79 win over the Hawks.
"I think you can always find a reason to look for an excuse," head coach Paul Sather said. "I just felt like it's really hard to come back down 18 on a team in conference play, and we did a pretty good job of doing that, whether it was five or seven (points), and we didn't continue to take advantage of some opportunities. ... We weren't that connected of a group that we've been, and we didn't close that run we were trying to make in that second half."
Denver, hot off the heels of a 78-71 win over North Dakota State, moved to 12-14 overall and 5-6 in Summit League play.
The Pioneers' offense proved potent. They shot 58.3% from the field and Jeremiah Burke, Logan Kinsey and guard Carson Johnson each scored 20 or more points.
"I've said all along, I think they are a terrific offensive team," Sather said. "Very difficult team to defend. And tonight, I felt like we helped them, in a sense, in a lot of this game."
UND had to dig deeper into its bench without Jones, who stands at 6-foot-9, and Anderson, who is 6-foot-6.
While junior forward George Natsvlishvili got the start at the five, the Hawks turned to freshman forward Marley Curtis off the bench to get length on the court. He provided a spark, playing for 15 minutes and scoring 14 points.
"It was something we just threw at him yesterday, so I thought he did a really good job with that," Sather said.
Sather described Anderson's injury as day-to-day at last Wednesday's press conference. It is unclear when Jones, who suffered an arm injury against Omaha on Thursday, will return.
"He's going to be out for the near future, for the next few days," Sather said. "But we don't know. There's a lot of things that still have to be determined here coming up this next week."
The Hawks entered Saturday's contest with a new starting lineup for the second game in a row. And for the second game in a row, they got off to a slow start.
Denver jumped out to an early 16-5 lead through the first six minutes and entered halftime with a 43-27 advantage.
"It gives you a different look that you weren't prepared for," Curtis said. "Losing Josh and having one practice before this game was definitely different. Omaha, not having Garrett, was different. So I think that plays a part. But we've just got to be more ready to go. Stuff is going to get thrown at you, you've just got to roll with it."
The Hawks' missing length was somewhat evident on the glass, where Denver outrebounded the hosts 40-25.
The Pioneers' presence on the boards was also helped out by UND's early offensive struggles.
The Hawks shot 31% from the field in the first half and 1-for-11 from deep. They ended the day shooting 3-for-21 from 3-point range.
"They did a pretty good job of making shots when we did," Sather said. "It's a difference of 11 field goals made. And I think that's where you see the (rebounding) discrepancy a little bit. Our problem at times was rebounding because they ended up with 12 offensive rebounds on only about 25 misses, which is way too many. It's too high of a percentage of rebounds for their misses."
Uelmen was one of the bright spots for UND offensively. He shot 10-for-19 and tallied a team-high 24 points.
Freshman guard Anthony Smith III and Natsvlishvili each scored 12 points.
The loss snaps a five-game winning streak for the Hawks, who fell to 14-13 overall and 8-3 in conference play. They'll head back on the road this Wednesday to take on South Dakota.
"We've got to have two really good practices before South Dakota," Curtis said. "We've got to get back to what we were doing before when we were on the road, just this last week, and we've just got to get back to our habits and forget about this one."
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