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VIDEO: HIghlights

HONOLULU – The University of Hawai'i men's basketball team built a big lead then held off a second-half rally in defeating North Dakota, 71-66, Tuesday night at the Stan Sheriff Center.
 
Brandon Spearman led UH (4-1) with 19 points, including a pair of clutch free throws to ice the game. Freshman forward Isaac Fotu came off the bench to score a career-high 17 points, while also adding a team-high eight rebounds.
 
UH led by as many as 23 points in the first half and 15 at halftime but needed to withstand a scrappy North Dakota team that had a pair of opportunities to tie the game in the final minute.
 
Unlike its last game, a tough overtime loss to Illinois in which the team squandered a double-digit lead, the 'Bows would not let this one get away. North Dakota had two possessions in the final 30 second with an opportunity to tie the game, but UH forced a turnover on the first one and a missed three-pointer on the other to extinguish the comeback. Spearman than sank two free throws with 5.3 second left  to seal the win.
 
The game looked like it would be a blowout early. UH got out of the gates quick—scoring the first seven points of the game. The Bows then used a 20-1 run in the to build a massive lead. UH held UND without a field goal for nearly nine minutes during the run and led 33-10 at one point, before taking a 15-point lead into the locker room.
 
UH shot a sizzling 52 percent in the first half, but cooled down considerably in the second half, shooting just 38 percent. North Dakota slowly chipped away in the second half and made it a three-point game, 66-63, on an Aaron Anderson three-pointer with just under three minutes left.
 
But Hauns Brereton had an answer two possessions later, with a key three-pointer from the wing that gave UH a six-point cushion with 2:08 remaining. The Brereton shot proved to be the game-saver as Josh Schuler's three-point play with 1:05 remaining got North Dakota to within 69-66. But that would be as close as it would get as UH shut the door on the North Dakota rally in the final minute.
 
Hawai'i will have now have a break of nearly 10 days before playing its first road game of the year at nationally ranked UNLV on Saturday, Dec. 1. Tipoff is set for 4:00 p.m. PT (2:00 p.m. HT) at the Thomas & Mack Center.