UND Athletics Kerry Ring
Eaglestaff’s Career High 33 Leads Fighting Hawks Over Pioneers
DENVER (UND Athletics) – Treysen Eaglestaff scored a career high 33 points to lead North Dakota men’s basketball team to a 92-78 win over the Denver Pioneers Thursday night, with 27 of his points coming the second half. The Fighting Hawk sharpshooter made 5-8 shots from downtown and 10-11 shots from the foul line.
Eli King also set a career high with 18 points, including a team high 16 in the first half. Amar Kuljuhovic notched his seventh double-double of the season with ten points and a team high 14 rebounds. Tyree Ihenacho led the team with four assists, while King and Tsotne Tsartsidze each had three. B.J. Omot blocked three shots, while King blocked six and Ihenacho one.
In stark contrast to the first half against Kansas City, both teams lit up the scoreboard in the first stanza. UND grabbed its first lead at 6-5 when Omot drove from the free throw line in for a dunk, the first of two monstrous dunks from the sophomore in the half. Later in the half, King drove the baseline and found Omot coming down the lane for a slam. King hit four three pointers in the half, setting a new career high for threes in a game in the first 20 minutes. Brady Danielson made a fantastic save on a loose ball which made its way to King, who hit from the top of the arc. His fourth three beat the buzzer as UND ran an inbounds play with 1.4 seconds left and King it from the corner to give the Fighting Hawks a 41-37 lead going into halftime.
The game remained neck-and-neck during the opening minutes of the second half, with UND holding the lead until a three made it a 54-52 game in favor of the hosts with 11:57 to go. A couple of minutes later a layup from Kuljuhovic gave the lead back to the green and white at 57-56. Shortly after a three from Eaglestaff made it 60-58 for NoDak, who would never trail again in the game. Later from a 66-66 tie, Eaglestaff hit from beyond the arc again and from there the Fighting Hawks led the rest of the way.
The Fighting Hawks will seek a season sweep of Oral Roberts on Saturday night at the Mabee Center.
Postgame Notes
- Eaglestaff becomes the second Fighting Hawk to score 30+ points this season, Omot scored 30 at Kansas City.
- UND grabbed 35 rebounds to 29 for Denver.
- NoDak had more points off turnovers, points in the paint, second chance points, fast break points and bench points in this game.
- The game had nine lead changes and five ties.
- With a loss tonight by South Dakota State, NoDak is now in first place in the Summit League.
How It Happened
First Half
14:51 – UND 10, Denver 9
11:33 – UND 18, Denver 14
7:52 – UND 24, Denver 21
3:22 – Denver 33, UND 31
Half – UND 41, Denver 37
Second Half
15:07 – UND 49, Denver 47
10:55 – Denver 56, UND 52
7:03 – UND 64, Denver 64
4:07 – UND 72, Denver 68
Final – UND 92, Denver 78
Game Recap: Men’s Basketball | 2/15/2024 10:36:00 PM | Josh McSwain, FightingHawks.com
Hurst pours in 27 points, Hawks earn 75-65 win over Denver
GRAND FORKS, N.D.(UND Athletics) – Kiyah Hurst and Kacie Borowicz combined for 51 points as they powered the North Dakota women’s basketball team to a 75-65 win over Denver Thursday night in the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.
UND Athletics/Russell HOns
Hurst nearly matched a career-high tonight as she poured in 27 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season. After playing just eight minutes in the first half due to foul trouble, Hurst erupted for 22 of UND’s 41 second half points. She was an efficient 10-of-15 from the field with three treys. Borowicz added 24 points, six boards and dished out four assists.
The Fighting Hawks defense led the way in the opening 10 minutes, holding Denver to 2-of-15 shooting to build up a 21-9 advantage. Hurst was on her way to a double-double early, scoring five points and grabbing six boards in the first. After Denver took an early 3-2 advantage, the Hawks rattled off a 12-1 run with points from four different UND players. UND shot 7-of-16 from the field and totaled 10 points in the paint.
Hurst opened the second half in a flurry, knocking down a three-pointer that snowballed into 14 third quarter points. She scored 11 of the first 13 points in the half, with three treys, as the Hawks would build up their largest lead of the contest so far, 47-31. Over a four-minute span in the middle of the period, UND rolled off a 12-0 run to go up 21 points and would take a 54-35 lead into the fourth after trading baskets over the final two minutes.
Denver cut the Fighting Hawk lead to single-digits multiple times in the final quarter, but the Hawks would hold off the Pioneers to earn the 75-65 lead. The Pioneers full-court pressure forced UND into eight turnovers in the fourth, leading to 16 DU points, but when the Hawks would break the press, they were nearly perfect from the floor going 8-for-9. Denver doubled its three-point total in the fourth, knocking down four treys on its way a 30-point output, but UND answered with 21 points to close out the 10-point win.
UND and Denver shot an identical 6-of-17 from the floor in the second quarter, with the Pioneers outscoring the Hawks by one point. Borowicz scored eight of UND’s 13 in the period, including six of the last eight as they carried a 34-23 lead into halftime. She paced UND and was the first player in double-figures with 11 points in the opening 20, while Rakiyah Beal dished out four assists.
The Fighting Hawks return to the Betty for the final time this season on Saturday for a Senior Day matchup with Oral Roberts.
Postgame Notes
- Kacie Borowicz scored her 1,900th career point in the green and white during the first half
- Kiyah Hurst recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 27 points and 11 rebounds
- UND won the rebounding battle, 41-33
- UND shot .889 percent from the field in the fourth quarter
- The Hawks shot .492 percent from the field, while holding DU to .379 percent
- The lead changed hands only twice in the game, and the score was never tied
- UND had more points in the paint (36-30) but DU had the edge in points off turnovers (26-9)
How It Happened
Q1: UND 21, DU 9
Q2: UND 34, DU 23
Q3: UND 54, DU 35
Q4: UND 75, DU 65
Game Recap: Women’s Basketball | 2/15/2024 10:21:00 PM | Ethan Erdman, FightingHawks.com
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