Riverside, Calif. (UND Athletics) – The North Dakota men’s basketball team finished its two-game road swing in the Los Angeles area on Sunday evening, falling 68-62 to UC Riverside.

B.J. Omot paced the Fighting Hawks with 19 points, with Eli King reaching double figures for the second consecutive game with 13. Amar Kuljuhovic also reached double figures with 12 and led the team with six rebounds. Deng Mayar led with two blocks, while Omot and Treysen Eaglestaff tied with three assists. Tsotne Tsartsidze got both of the team’s two steals.

Jumpers from Omot and Kuljuhovic gave the green and white an early 4-2 lead, and the first half was tightly contested throughout. Down 15-9 later in the half, Kuljuhovic made threes on back-to-back possessions to knot it up and then Omot hit a foul shot to go back up at 16-15. In the final minutes of the half, Omot hit a layup to put UND up 24-23, which was the last lead UND would hold in the game. UCR took a 31-26 lead into intermission.

Omot made it a four point game after a three-point play on a dunk, but momentum swung back to UCR—who went up double digits. NoDak chipped away as the half went on, climbing back within single digits at 50-41 with a three from Eaglestaff. King followed with a three, and then Eaglestaff made a layup to make it a four point game at 50-46. But UND could not take back the lead at any point in the half—the closest they came was three points at 65-62 with 12 seconds to go, but UCR scored the final three points to finish the game.

North Dakota will return home for two games—this Saturday against Portland University and then Waldorf (Iowa) the following Tuesday.

Postgame Notes 

  • King scored in double figures for the fourth time this season, and his 13 rebounds over the two games this weekend were the most on the team.
  • UND shot 10-20 from beyond the arc, with UCR going 5-22 on threes.
  • UCR dominated the glass—grabbing 46 rebounds to UND’s 26.
  • NoDak finished with four blocks—to one for UCR.
  • Omot has now scored in double-figures for the seventh time in nine games this season.

  
How It Happened 

First Half

15:34 – UND 4, UCR 2

11:17 – UCR 13, UND 9

7:38 – UCR 17, UND 16

3:25 – UCR 27, UND 24

Half – UCR 31, UND 26

Second Half

16:00 – UCR 43, UND 29

11:52 – UCR 46, UND 35

7:26 – UCR 50, UND 41

3:32 – UCR 59. UND 51

Final – UCR 68, UND 62

Game Recap: Men’s Basketball | 12/3/2023 8:57:00 PM | Josh McSwain, FightingHawks.com