TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The North Dakota men's basketball team dropped its season opener on the road against No. 15 Alabama by a score of 91-62 on Monday night from Coleman Coliseum.

North Dakota had just 10 turnovers compared to Alabama's 15 and got up four more shot attempts than the Tide, but the difference was UND shot 24-of-62 (38.7%) and Alabama was 31-of-58 (53.4%) from the field.

The Hawks were led offensively by Garrett Anderson (13) and Eli King (11), as the senior duo combined for 24 of UND's 62 points on the night.

King put up an impressive stat line with team highs in rebounds (6) and steals (4) to go along with his 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting. The Caledonia, Minn. native's four steals were the most in a UND season opener since Cortez Seales had four on Nov. 11, 2016 in the first game of the 2016-17 season.

Anderson shot 6-of-17 from the field, with his 13 points being the most by a player in their UND debut since the 2021-22 season when Paul Bruns had 13 in his first game as a Hawk.

The Hawks manufactured 30 points off the bench compared to 25 of the Crimson Tide, with Anthony Smith lll (8), Marley Curtis (6), Zach Kraft (6), Greyson Uelmen (6) and Ryan Erikson (4) totaling the points. Smith lll contributed a team best four assists along with two steals.

UND fell behind 5-0 early, but the Hawks used a 7-2 run, concluded by a King three-pointer to tie the game at 7-7 with 17:47 to play.

From there Alabama went on a 12-2 run to take a 19-9 advantage, clinging to a double-digit lead the rest of the half.

Trailing 41-24, NoDak scored five consecutive points to cut the deficit to just 12 with 2:15 remaining. The Tide missed a three-pointer as UND had a chance to get the Alabama lead down to single-digits. The Hawks were unable to convert as King missed a shot with 1:55 remaining which turned into a quick Crimson Tide 7-0 run from two buckets in the paint and a three-ball to put them up 48-29.

 Out of a North Dakota timeout, Smith lll found Anderson behind the left wing three-point line, where he tossed up a rainbow delivery that found the bottom of the net with four seconds to spare in the half. The Hawks trailed 48-32 at the half.

Alabama came out of the break with an 11-2 run to go up 59-34 with 17:06 to play in the second half, but UND answered with a 13-6 run to make it 65-47 with 12:03 to play.

That was as close as North Dakota would get, with UND falling 91-62 to the Crimson Tide.

UND will be back in action on Thursday for its home opener against UC Riverside at 7 p.m. Coverage can be found on The Summit League Network.

Postgame Notes

• North Dakota falls to 0-2 all-time against Alabama and 86-35 in season openers
• UND recorded 11 steals
• King's four steals were the most in a season opener since the 2016-17 season when Cortez Seales had four on Nov. 11, 2016
• Anderson's 13 points were the most by a UND player in their debut since the 2021-22 season (Paul Bruns)
• Marley Curtis, Anthony Smith lll and Greyson Uelmen each recorded their first career baskets
• North Dakota had 30 bench points compared to 25 from Alabama
• UND forced 15 Tide turnovers and turned it into 13 points
• The Hawks had 30 points in the paint compared to 44 from Alabama
• Kraft had two three-pointers, good for his eighth career game with two or more three-pointers
• Reggie Thomas, George Natsvlishvili and Anthony Doppler all made their first career regular season collegiate starts
• Alabama had 46 rebounds (11 offensive) compared to 26 (seven offensive) from UND
• North Dakota shot 5-of-20 from deep compared to 8-of-27 from Alabama

How It Happened
First Half
15:31: Bama 15, UND 9
9:17: Bama 29, UND 16
6:54: Bama 34, UND 20
3:04: Bama 41, UND 26
Halftime: Bama 48, UND 32
 
Second Half
15:21: Bama 61, UND 40
11:50: Bama 67, UND 47
8:23: Bama 74, UND 50
3:49: Bama 84, UND 58
Final: Bama 91, UND 62

For more information on North Dakota men's basketball, visit FightingHawks.com or follow on social media @UNDmbasketball.
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