Bruns Sets Freshman Scoring Record, Hawks Fall 79-53 to Bison
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (UND Athletics)– North Dakota fell 79-53 to North Dakota State in Summit League men’s basketball action inside the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center on Saturday afternoon.
Paul Bruns broke the freshman scoring record at UND (6-25, 2-16 SL) with 58 seconds before halftime, scoring his sixth point on a jumper and surpassing the freshman record of 454 points set by De’Sean Allen-Eikens two seasons ago. Bruns finished with 11 points, moving the freshman record to 460.
Ethan Igbanugo led the Fighting Hawks with 16 points, followed by Bruns’ 11. Brady Danielson also netted 10 points, while Bentiu Panoam finished just outside double figures with nine.
Brian Mathews corralled a team leading seven boards to go with two points.
Grant Nelson was the top scorer for NDSU (21-9, 13-5 SL), pouring in a game-high 17 points to go with seven rebounds. Jarius Cook, Tyree Eady and Rocky Kreuser each added 10 points while Kreuser also pulled down seven boards.
In the game, North Dakota State shot 50.9 percent, buried 11 triples and went 12-of-15 at the line. Comparatively, North Dakota hit 34.5 percent of its shots, knocked down six three-pointers and finished 9-of-15 at the charity stripe.
The Bison controlled the game in rebounds (41-28), points in the paint (30-22), bench scoring (27-12) and points off turnovers (10-4). The Fighting Hawks held a 6-4 edge in steals.
UND trailed 17-5 with 12:54 left in the opening period, before Igbanugo went on a 6-0 run to trim the deficit to 17-11 midway through the opening half.
With 2:53 remaining before halftime, Bruns knocked down his second shot and was two points away from owning the freshman record outright, while North Dakota trailed 29-21.
Bruns knocked down his sixth point on a jumper with 58 seconds before intermission to bring the deficit to 34-23. Panoam added a jumper four seconds before halftime to bring the tally to 34-25. In the opening 20 minutes, UND shot 38.5 percent and was led by Igbanugo with nine points. NDSU hit at 48.1 percent and the top scorer for the Bison was Nelson with nine.
The Bison started the second half on a 22-5 run to increase their lead to 56-30 with 12:40 left in the contest. NDSU led by as many as 28 points in the second half, having its lead balloon to 79-51 with 1:27 left in the game and Mathews scored the final points of the game with a jumper to bring the final score to 79-53.
Game Recap: Men’s Basketball | 2/26/2022 3:39:00 PM | Tyler Wells, FightingHawks.com
Fighting Hawks Fall to the Bison in an 81-64 Decision
FARGO, N.D. – The University of North Dakota fell to North Dakota State, 64-81, on Saturday afternoon.
Kacie Borowicz led UND on offense scoring 26 points, securing five rebounds, and four assists.
Maggie Manson ended the afternoon with 12 points, one rebound, and one steal.
The third Fighting Hawks to end in double figures was Claire Orth with 11 points, three rebounds, and an assist.
Olivia Lane netted nine points in the contest. She secured nine rebounds.
Melissa Leet rounded out the starting five with six points, six rebounds, and three assists.
The Fighting Hawks finished the afternoon shooting 32.9 percent from inside the arch, 26.7 percent from the three, and 80.0 percent from the line. The Bison shot 46.3 percent from the field, 14.3 percent beyond the arch, and 87.9 percent from the line.
North Dakota took the initial, but the Bison retook the lead seconds later. The back-and-forth battle began as the teams each took the lead multiple times, but it was NDSU who kept it going up 12-8 before the media timeout (4:57). The Bison continued to attack, but the Fighting Hawks adjusted their defense and went on a 5-0 run to give them the 19-17 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Fighting Hawks carried the momentum into the second as they extended their lead to four. The Bison went on a 6-0 run in the middle of the second to give them the one-point lead (27-26), but the Fighting Hawks retook the lead seconds later off free-throws by Borowicz. The Hawks hit another basket to extend the lead once more to three, but the Bison brought it within one once more as the teams continued to trade baskets. With 2:44 left to play, NDSU tied it at 32 all and then scored another basket to retake the lead with 1:37 left to play. UND continued to attack and was able to tie it at 34 all, but NDSU retook the two-point lead (36-34) with 59 seconds left in the half.
North Dakota exited the intermission and scored two consecutive baskets to take the 38-36 lead within the first minute of the third. The Bison continued hot on the heels of the Fighting Hawks as they tied it (38-38), but Manson stepped up and hit back-to-back threes to give UND the four-point lead (44-40). NDSU continued to trail until Abby Schulte scored a three-point play to tie at 46 with 5:48 left in the third. The Bison took the lead seconds later with back-to-back baskets. North Dakota continued to fight and brought it within two (50-52) with 2:29 left to play in the quarter, but the Bison went on a 5-0 run to give them the 57-52 lead headed into the fourth.
Borowicz scored the first basket of the fourth to bring North Dakota within three. Lane then scored a layup to cut the lead to one within the first minute of play in the fourth. The Bison responded to continued to extend the lead. They went on an 8-0 run to give them the 67-58 lead before Orth netted a jump shot with 3:35 left to play. The Fighting Hawks tried to convert on offense, but they were unable to as the Bison went on another 8-0 run towards the end of the quarter. Manson hit a three to end that run, but the Fighting Hawks were unable to recover as the Bison won 81-64.
Heaven Hamling led NDSU with 21 points, ten rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Reneya Hopkins ended the afternoon with 20 points, seven rebounds, and three assists.
North Dakota will travel to Sioux Falls to play Oral Roberts in the first round of the Summit League tournament on Sunday, March 6.
