Grand Forks, N.D. • Trey Kennedy scored a career-high 24 points and John Marshall added a personal-best 10 as Southern Utah played arguably its best game of the season but North Dakota out-scored Southern Utah 11-4 down the stretch to come back from a three-point deficit and snatch a victory in the Thunderbirds' Big Sky opener, 65-61.
"I thought it was a great basketball game tonight," SUU coach Nick Robinson said. "We got great contributions from everybody.
The Thunderbirds, who led through much of a game that featured 10 ties and nine lead changes, fell to 0-1 in the Big Sky and 1-9 overall while North Dakota improved to 1-1 in the Sky and 4-8 overall.
SUU had a 57-54 lead after Kennedy hit a pair of free throws with 4:11 to play, but UND scored eight straight points, taking a 58-57 lead on a Jamal Webb layup and extending the lead to 62-57 on another Webb basket before A.J. Hess hit a jumper with 52 seconds to play to bring SUU back within 62-59.
Women's basketball
Pacific 71, BYU 60 • In Provo, Kim Beeston scored 15 points and Jennifer Hamson had a game-high 22 for the Cougars (12-1), who lost their first game of the season.
North Dakota 70, Southern Utah 68 • In Grand Forks, North Dakota outscored the Thunderbirds 9-0 in the final 2 1/2 minutes.
Hailey Mandelko scored 21 points off the bench for Southern Utah (7-4, 1-1 Big Sky Conference).