#6 Alabama survives Eaglestaff, Hawks on memorable night

PHOTO/KERRY RING

GRAND FORKS, N.D. (UND ATHLETICS) – With a mid-December winter storm closing in, it sure felt like March inside the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center on Wednesday night and a packed house of over 3,000 will remember the evening for a lifetime. Junior guard Treysen Eaglestaff orchestrated a career-night scoring 40 points to reach 1,000 for his career and North Dakota went toe-to-toe with #6 Alabama taking the Crimson Tide to the wire in a 97-90 loss in a contest that served as a homecoming of sorts for Devils Lake native and former NDSU Bison Grant Nelson.

Nelson’s return to the Peace Garden State ended with a double-double of 23 points and ten rebounds, but it was a fellow North Dakota Mr. Basketball in Eaglestaff who took center stage. Fourteen first-half points from the Bismarck native helped the Hawks carry a 38-35 lead into the intermission. Eaglestaff’s second half, which was filled with big shot after big shot, totaled 26 points on nine made shots with six coming from beyond-the-arc.

The opening twenty minutes witnessed UND force 13 Alabama turnovers, while battling inside to finish a paint bucket and three boards back of being even with the lengthy Crimson Tide in those categories. The Tide shot just 28% from the floor in the first half as the Hawks sank two more shots in five more attempts from the field. Additionally, the Hawks picked up seven steals in the frame.

The Hawks hit six first-half threes with Eaglestaff’s deep wing triple try aiding UND in an 11-8 lead at the first media stoppage. Within that opening four minutes of play, there were a pair of fastbreak buckets from junior guard Eli King and sophomore guard Mier Panoam. North Dakota hammered shots at a 50% rate through the first nine-plus minutes which included a quick-trigger trifecta from the stroke of redshirt freshman Zach Kraft that pushed the Hawks out front 19-12 as the clock dipped under 11:45.

UND’s lead grew to 29-24 with 7:03 remaining in the first half as the Hawks sat at +7 in points off of turnovers and were led by a dozen points from Eaglestaff. Kraft hammered another triple try later in the half and North Dakota was +4 in turnover margin at the break.

Eaglestaff picked up where he left off in the first half knocking down three-point attempts on consecutive possessions to open up what turned out to be a wild twenty minutes of action. The Tide began to turn as a 14-2 run over a 3:20 stretch of play helped the first-time North Dakota visitors to a 56-47 lead at the 13:42 mark of the second half. That Alabama run was met by a 1-of-9 effort from the floor by the Hawks in that same stretch which led to the 9-point deficit which stood as large as 11 in the half.

There was plenty of fight left in the Hawks as junior forward Dariyus Woodson knocked down one of three successful attempts from range on a top-of-the-key look and Kraft strolled into a three-point make to keep the Hawks within seven at 62-55.

Drives inside from Woodson and Panoam cut into the Alabama lead which stood at six points with 6:17 to play and just over a minute later, King converted a second-chance three to make it a one-possession game at 78-75. Moments later, Eaglestaff drilled a three-point attempt in the far corner off an assist from Panoam to even the affair at 78 and send the Betty into a frenzy.

King hit a second-chance three to tie the game at 85-85 with 2:15 remaining and following a pair of free throws by both Nelson and Labaron Philon, Eaglestaff responded in the final 30 seconds with a near corner step-back three to keep the Hawks alive at 91-88. However, the Crimson Tide managed to put away UND at the stripe going 6-of-6 in the final twenty seconds.  

North Dakota faces a quick turnaround in welcoming in Division II South Dakota Mines on Friday, December 20. The two sides meet for the second time and first since 2010. It will be the Fighting Hawks’ final contest before the Christmas holiday. Action tips off at 7 p.m. inside the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center and can be seen on 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

• Eaglestaff’s 40 points marks a new career-high scoring effort and is his third career game with 30 or more points and second this season
• His 40 points are the most ever inside the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center topping Quinton Hooker’s 38 against Portland State (2/25/16)
• He is the first Hawk since Geno Crandall (vs. Troy, 11-10-17) in 2017 to score 40 points in a game and is the fifth DI player to score 40 or more points in a game this season
• Eaglestaff becomes the first mid-major player since 2012 to score 40 points against an AP-Top 10 opponent
• Eaglestaff’s 40 is the most in loss by a Fighting Hawk since Travis Tuttle’s 40 vs. South Dakota State (1/17/97)
• Eaglestaff’s step-back, corner three that pushed him to 40 also made him the 39th player in program history and the 12th in UND’s DI era to reach 1,000 career points
• He set career-high marks in field goals made (15), field goals attempted (30), three-point field goals made (8) and three-point field goal attempts (18)
• Eaglestaff’s 15 made field goals match Hooker’s Portland State effort for the most in a game inside the Betty, while his 30 attempts overall (Prev: 25, Marlon Stewart vs. NDSU – 2/22/20) and 18 from deep (Prev: Aanen Moody vs. Purdue Fort Wayne – 12/29/18) are both Betty bests
• North Dakota’s 90 points match the most scored against the Crimson Tide this season (Rutgers), while Eaglestaff’s 40 is the most scored against Alabama this season
• The Fighting Hawks set season-highs in points scored, field goals made (33), field goal attempts (76), three-point field goals made (17) and three-point field goal attempts (41) and matched their season-high total in steals (8)
• UND’s 17 made three-point shots are the second-most in a game in program history
• The Hawks’ 41.5% effort from three-point range is the best such effort this campaign
• Kraft sniped a career-high nine points on a career best 3-of-7 shooting from beyond-the-arc and added his first career steal in the effort
• Woodson finished with 15 points including nine from range
• Amar Kuljuhovic nearly delivered a double double with nine points and a team-high eight rebounds, while Panoam and senior forward Brian Mathews both followed with five boards
• Panoam recorded a pair of blocks for the third time this season
• Kuljuhovic and Eaglestaff each recorded two steals
• UND led for 20:51 in the contest; over 4:30 longer than Alabama led
• SEC Preseason Player of the Year Mark Sears equaled Nelson’s 23 points and three other players joined the duo in double-figure scoring

How It Happened

First Half

15:18 – UND 11, Alabama 8 (UND 63% from the floor)

11:25 – UND 19, Alabama 12 (Alabama 2-of-last-10 FGs)

7:03 – UND 29, Alabama 24 (Hawks +7 in PoTs)

3:45 – UND 32, Alabama 30 (Bama 5-of-last-7 FGs)

HALF – UND 38, Alabama 35

Second Half

15:59 – UND 47, Alabama 46

13:42 – Alabama 56, UND 47 (Bama 14-2 run over last 3:20; UND 1-of-last-9 FGs)

11:09 – Alabama 62, UND 55 (Bama 5-of-last-6 FGs)

7:49 – Alabama 73, UND 68 (UND 5-of-last-7; Bama 6-of-last-8)

3:47 – Alabama 80, UND 78

FINAL – Alabama 97, UND 90