SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Sacramento State stormed all the way back from a 52-31 halftime deficit to eventually take a 72-69 lead with 1:46 remaining in regulation, but eventually fell in overtime to North Dakota, 90-82, on Saturday afternoon at the Nest.

After North Dakota closed the first half on a 9-2 run to take a 21-point halftime advantage, it didn't look good for Sacramento State as the team was struggling both offensively and defensively. However, the second half looked completely different as the Hornets began things with a 9-0 run right out of the gate to claw back within, 52-40, with 16:24 left. Both teams played even the next 11 minutes of game clock until Sacramento State used a 13-0 run over a 3:23 span late in the second half to take a 72-69 lead with 1:46 remaining. Eric Stuteville (5), Izayah Mauriohooho-Le'afa (5) and Justin Strings (3) each scored during the spurt, and the run was punctuated with a Mauriohooho-Le'afa fastbreak layup off a Nick Hornsby steal.

North Dakota then got a Conner Avants jumper and a pair of Quinton Hooker free throws sandwiched around a Stuteville free throw to tie the score at 73-73 with 49 seconds left. Marcus Graves gave the Hornets the lead back at 75-73 with an off-balance 15-foot jumper near the end of the shot clock with 19 seconds remaining, but North Dakota put together perhaps the play of the game. Drick Bernstine slipped a Hornet defender with the clock winding down and took a slick pass from Corey Baldwin to get a layup with 2.3 seconds left to tie things at 75-75. Graves' desperation three-quarter court shot fell short at the buzzer.

In overtime, the Fighting Hawks outscored the Hornets, 15-7, while shooting 3-for-5 from the field, 2-of-3 from the 3-point line and 7-for-8 from the charity stripe during the extra session. North Dakota never trailed in overtime as the Hornets were 2-for-10 and 0-for-5 from long distance.

With the victory, North Dakota improved to 6-6 overall and 1-1 in the Big Sky. The Fighting Hawks were picked third in the Big Sky's preseason coaches poll while garnering three first-place votes. The win was UND's first-ever inside the Nest as the Hornets had been 4-0 in Sacramento. North Dakota now owns a 6-5 edge in the all-time series.

Sacramento State (3-10, 0-2) lost its second straight game at home, a rare occurrence for a program that is now 47-16 inside the Nest dating back to the beginning of the 2012-13 season. In fact, the Hornets had won six straight at home prior to Thursday's loss to Northern Colorado. Sacramento State, which began its 18-game Big Sky schedule this week, will play three straight road games and does not return home again until hosting Montana State on Jan. 19.

After North Dakota shot a blistering .606 (20-33) from the field in the first half, Sacramento State limited the Fighting Hawks to .333 (8-24) in the second half. In addition, Hooker, UND's leading scorer, had 23 points in the first half before being limited to just six in the second half. Conversely, Sacramento State shot .680 (17-25) in the second half to spark the comeback, including 3-for-4 from the 3-point line. Both teams would finish the game shooting well (SAC .542, UND .500) and both teams had 34 rebounds.

The Hornets' points (82), field goals made (32), field goal percentage (.542), free throws attempted (26) and assists (21) were each the second best single-game totals of the year. Sacramento State also had a season-high 10 blocked shots, including a career-best five from Strings. The Hornets had 52 points in the paint and shot .644 (29-45) from inside the 3-point arc. Where the Hornets really hurt themselves was the free throw line where the team converted on just .577 (15-26) from the stripe while North Dakota shot .870 (20-23).

"Obviously, I'm proud of the guys for overcoming the big deficit and taking a lead in the second half, but it was too little too late," Sacramento State head coach Brian Katz said. "You can't spot a team a 21-point lead and expect to win those types of games very often. A loss is never a good thing and there are no moral victories in college basketball, but I do believe the second half is who we think this team can be the rest of the way."

Strings and Stuteville were incredible all afternoon as Strings finished with a career-high tying 26 points to go along with five rebounds and five blocks in 43 minutes. Strings was 11-for-16 from the field and his five blocked shots are tied for the fourth best single-game mark in Sacramento State's Div. I era (1991-pres.). Coincidentally, Strings originally set his career high of 26 points last season on the road against North Dakota.

Stuteville had 20 points, three blocks and a career-high 14 rebounds in 42 minutes. He shot 8-of-9 from the field and connected on four free throws. For Stuteville, today marked the sixth time in double figure scoring in the last seven games and his second double-double of the season.

Joining the Strings and Stuteville in double-figure scoring was Graves, who had 14 points and seven assists in 42 minutes. Hornsby added 11 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals in 38 minutes. Fellow starter Mauriohooho-Le'afa had seven points, four rebounds and three assists in 34 minutes. The fivesome of Strings, Graves, Hornsby, Stuteville and Mauriohooho-Le'afa never came out of the game in the second half or the overtime session. Those five players, who were also the starters, scored 78 of the Hornets' 82 points. Grant Dressler had four points and two assists in nine minutes off the bench.

For North Dakota, Hooker finished with 31 points on 9-of-14 from the field, 3-of-6 from the 3-point line and 10-for-10 from the free throw line. He also had five rebounds and three assists in 42 minutes. Geno Crandall, Baldwin and Cortez Seales all had 12 points. Seales scored seven of those 12 points in overtime. Bernstine finished with eight points, five assists and 12 rebounds in 40 minutes.

Sacramento State will play three Big Sky road games over the next two weeks, including matchups at Portland State (Jan. 7), Southern Utah (Jan. 12) and Northern Arizona (Jan. 14).