MOSCOW, Idaho – It all seemed so fluid, easy and in-sync in the first minutes of Idaho's Big Sky Conference basketball game against North Dakota. But that changed and it was turnovers and missed shots, fouls and poor offensive execution.

The result was North Dakota handing the Vandals their fourth successive loss – a 71-63 setback at the Cowan Spectrum.

“We just didn't play good at all in the second half,” coach Don Verlin said after Idaho dropped to 7-10 and 2-4 in the league. “We didn't defend it. Didn't rebound it. Didn't make our free throws. Played horrible offense and let a seven-point, 15-point lead get away from us. I thought they dominated us in the second half.

“As coaches, we have to coach better. Players have to play better. We have to find a way to put a better product on the floor at Idaho.”

In the early going, it was all Idaho. The Vandals dominated on the boards and the scoreboard in pulling out to lead by as many as 15 before North Dakota battled back into contention. UND did it with rebounding and forcing turnovers – the bugaboo that has haunted Idaho over the past couple of weeks, as well as finding its touch from the perimeter.

A 27-12 lead with 6:12 left in the first half turned into a 32-25 Idaho lead at halftime. However, UND continued its resurgence as the second half unfolded and took its first lead of the game, 33-32, on Quinton Hooker's layup with 17:58 to go in the game. By the midpoint of the second half, UND had put together a 34-13 run during a 13:23 span to go up 46-37.

Guard Sekou Wiggs said the Vandals' response to that type of shift in momentum has to change.

“It was a matter of focus and being able to respond when adversity hits,” Wiggs said. “We have to be able to stay in there and fight through adversity.”

UND stretched its lead to 12, 49-37, before the Vandals started to regroup. Arkadiy Mkrtychyan's gritty, rugged play – scoring and rebounding, that fueled the Vandals' comeback. Connor Hill popped a 3-pointer with 2:12 to go that capped the 23-13 run and cut the gap to 62-60.

Turnovers helped UND to go back up by six, 66-60, before Hill struck again with a 3 to make it 66-63 with 1:29 left to play. After an Idaho timeout, the teams traded possessions before Dustin Hobaugh hit one of two free throws to increase the UND lead to four, 67-63.

Wiggs missed two free throws with :35 to go and Carson Shanks hit one for UND to push its lead to an insurmountable 68-63 with 19 seconds to play. Shanks hit two more with 11.3 seconds left for a 70-63 UND lead. Hobaugh's free throw with half of a tick left made it 71-63.

Hill led Idaho with 14 points, with Mkrtychyan adding 13 points and a team-best eight rebounds.

Idaho is at home Saturday against Northern Colorado. Tipoff at the Cowan Spectrum is 7 p.m.