FARGO, N.D. – Junior guard Treysen Eaglestaff scored 15 of his 22 points in the second half and that effort helped spur a 15-4 North Dakota run which pulled the Hawks to within a point of the North Dakota State lead as the clock dipped under six minutes, but the host held off the visitors from Grand Forks in the game’s final moments to win the 310th meeting between the Peace Garden State foes 87-82 on Saturday afternoon from inside Scheels Center.

North Dakota (8-15, 2-6 SL) nearly outlasted 48 three-point attempts from the nation’s second-leading three-point shooting team in the Bison. NDSU saw a third of those attempts hit the bottom of the net as the Bison shot just ten times inside the arc, while also attempting 33 free throws. The Hawks shot 41.3% from the floor for the game and hit half of their 30 attempts in the second half but struggled throughout from the stripe connecting on just 60% for the game.

NDSU built its largest lead of the back-and-forth first half on a five-point swing that ended with a corner three and a 41-31 advantage for the host with 68 seconds remaining before the intermission. UND answered on the other end with two free throws from sophomore forward Mambourou Mara and following a defensive stop, the Hawks held for the final shot with Eaglestaff netting a contact three from the top-of-the-key and finishing the four-point play to pull the Hawks within four at the break.

The Hawks never led in the second half, but pulled to within one point of the NDSU lead three times including a three from Eli King immediately out of the halftime break. UND’s aforementioned 15-4 nearly erased all of a 12-point deficit as Eaglestaff accounted for eight points in the run which included a pair of tough drives to the basket. Within that run, junior guard Eli King clamped down to force a steal and delivered out front to a racing Mier Panoam who finished, while senior forward Amar Kuljuhovic gathered an offensive board and finished inside.

Moments after the Bison momentarily halted the Hawks, Eaglestaff drained a trifecta in front of a smothering Jacari White to pull UND to 76-74 with 3:55 to play. A three from junior forward Dariyus Woodson brought the Hawks back within a possession at 83-81 in the final half minute, but the Bison went perfect on a trio of trips to the stripe in that same span to hold off UND who lost three players to fouls over the final eight minutes to play.

The Hawks are back in action in a week and welcome in South Dakota State on Saturday, February 1. SDSU handled UND 109-73 in Brookings on January 16. Tip-off from inside the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center is set for 1 p.m.

The action can be seen on Midco Sports and the Summit League Network. Fans can follow the action live with Fighting Hawks men’s basketball radio play-by-play voice Paul Ralston on KSNR 100.3 FM The Cat or on the iHeart Radio app. Live stats for the contest will be available at www.FightingHawks.com.

Postgame Notes

  • UND hit season highs in free throw attempts (35) and fouls committed (23)
  • The two teams combined for 68 free throw attempts
  • The Hawks made 21 free throws marking the sixth game this season with 20+
  • North Dakota committed a season-low six turnovers
  • UND finished +6 in rebounding and +4 on the offensive end
  • Both sides received two dozen bench points, while the Hawks finished +18 in paint production
  • Eaglestaff scored 20+ points for the eighth time this season and matched his career high in rebounds with seven
  • Kuljuhovic followed with a dozen points and Panoam added 11
  • King registered a career high and a UND season high in rebounds with 13
  • Reggie Thomas matched his career high in scoring with seven points in twenty tough minutes
  • Four Bison finished in double figures with Jacksen Moni leading with 24 points and White following with 20
  • NDSU delivered 17 assists: the second most by a Summit League opponent against the Hawks this season

How It Happened

First Half
15:50 – NDSU 5, UND 4 (NDSU 1-of-5 3pt FGs)
11:36 – NDSU 17, UND 12 (NDSU 3-of-last-3 FGs)
6:43 – NDSU 27, UND 25
3:14 – NDSU 32, UND 30 (38 combined 3pt FGA)
HALF – NDSU 41, UND 37 (UND 6-0 run over final 0:43)

Second Half
14:56 – NDSU 58, UND 47 (NDSU 3-of-7 2H 3pt FGs, 6 2H PoT)
11:56 – NDSU 64, UND 52
6:16 – NDSU 68, UND 65 (UND 13-4 run; NDSU 1-of-last-7 FGs, 2:21 scoring drought)
2:15 – NDSU 79, UND 76
00:25 – NDSU 83, UND 78
FINAL – NDSU 87, UND 82

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