Heading into its final home series of the season, the UND men’s basketball  team is riding a 5-game losing streak after suffering two losses on its most recent roadtrips to Portland State and Sacramento State.

Last Saturday, Sacramento State defeated UND 74-66 to claim the top spot in the Big Sky Conference.

UND sophomore Quinton Hooker tallied a career-high 20 points while senior Jaron Nash contributed 17 points to help North Dakota clinch a lead in the first half.

But the Hornets quickly took back control and held the 32-29 advantage at halftime.

“Tonight, it was about costly turnovers,” UND coach Brian Jones said Saturday. “We definitely had our moments and played well at times, but these guys are a veteran bunch and they will hurt you if you do not take care of the ball, and that is what got us tonight.”

North Dakota will return to action against Northern Arizona this Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. The team will stay at home to face Southern Utah on Saturday and Omaha on March 3.

Staff report