GRAND FORKS, N.D. – South Dakota fell to North Dakota 95-66 in Grand Forks Saturday afternoon.
 
South Dakota (12-19, 5-11 Summit) had four Coyotes score in double-figures and was led by 15 points from Lahat Thioune on 70 percent shooting from the floor. Kaleb Stewart had 14 points and knocked down both of this three-point attempts. Bostyn Holt had 13 points and went 4-of-4 at the free throw line and Paul Bruns rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points.
 
North Dakota (18-13, 10-6 Summit) also had four players score in double-figures led by a game-high 24 points from Tyree Ihenacho. Ihenacho went 9-of-12 from the field, hit both of his three-point attempts, and went 4-of-4 at the free throw line. Treysen Eaglestaff followed with 19 points on 50 percent shooting from the field and three triples.
 
The first half was a back-and-forth battle with either team trading scoring runs and the lead. North Dakota led by as many as nine in the first half but a buzzer-beating three from Bruns to end the half kept it a four-point game at the break. The Fighting Hawks opened the second half on a 17-4 run and never looked back, leading by as many as 23 with just over four minutes to play.
 
The Coyotes shot 63 percent from the field and 50 percent from three in the first half but couldn't maintain it in the second half. The Fighting Hawks outscored South Dakota 48-40 in the paint and grabbed 33 rebounds opposed to the Coyotes' 29 boards. North Dakota forced 15 South Dakota turnovers and scored 20 points off those.
 
South Dakota will open the Summit League Tournament on Friday, March 8 in the #8/#9 game at 7 p.m. in the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center.