Hawks snap losing streak to SDSU behind King’s career scoring effort

PHOTO/KERRY RING

GRAND FORKS, N.D. (UND ATHLETICS)– Behind a career-high 24 points from junior guard Eli King and four other Fighting Hawks in double-figure scoring, North Dakota men’s basketball used a dominate start, held off South Dakota State late and never trailed throughout the contest to earn an 80-75 Summit League victory on Saturday afternoon inside the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. The win snapped an 18-game UND losing streak to the Jackrabbits.

King’s career effort started from the jump as he delivered seven early points for the Hawks to aid UND in grabbing an 11-5 lead through the first media stoppage of the opening half. Following the timeout, the Hawks put together an 8-0 run over a span of 2:25 to increase their advantage to double figures at 19-9 as the clock dipped under 12 minutes.

Within that eight-minute stretch, senior forward Amar Kuljuhovic accounted for a pair of tough buckets and was a key catalyst for the Hawks’ efforts in hounding SDSU big man Oscar Cluff inside. Additionally, sophomore guard Mier Panoam factored inside with ten first-half points, while sophomore forward Mambourou Mara hit a trio of triple tries, a career-high effort, the first of which was netted as the clock moved south of the eight-minute mark and doubled-up the Jackrabbits 32-16.

Mara was far from finished as less than a minute later he hit another trifecta, this time from the opposite wing to keep the lead at 16. The following possession, after a Jackrabbit miss from range, King nailed a transition triple on an assist from junior guard Reggie Thomas and the very next trip down the court for the Hawks Mara hammered his third three-point shot in a span of about two and a half minutes. The make prompted a visiting timeout and put the Hawks out front 41-22 at the 5:32 mark of the opening twenty.

The two sides went back-and-forth offensively down the stretch of the first half which saw King match his career high in scoring with 18 points in addition to Panoam forcing a steal on the final Jackrabbit possession of the first half to keep the UND lead at 15 points at the intermission.

All two thousand plus fans in attendance knew a Jackrabbit run was in the works following the break and the visitors played that card immediately. SDSU built a 10-3 advantage to start the second half courtesy of a 7-0 run in a span of 80 seconds which pulled the Jackrabbits to within eight of the UND lead at 53-45. Tough inside buckets from Kuljuhovic, who backed down Cluff for a textbook basket, and a slice to the rack by junior guard Treysen Eaglestaff cooled off the Jackrabbits’ surge and preceded a trifecta from Kuljuhovic which put UND up 60-47 at the 15:21 mark of the second half.

Leading by 11 at the under-12 media, the Hawks buckled down defensively and pestered the Jackrabbits into a 1-of-9 shooting effort and a three-plus minute scoring drought that allowed UND to stay in front by 13 at 66-53 with 7:32 to play.

North Dakota’s lead grew back to 16 as Eaglestaff created space along the near wing and sank a three-point try with less than 6:30 remaining. Just prior to the final media break, King once again delivered for UND as he dribbled into a near top-of-the-key three which he netted to push the Hawks up 72-59.

The Hawks handled one more SDSU surge late as the Jackrabbits cut into the UND lead and trailed by just six with 46.1 seconds to play. UND used a free throw from King and two from senior forward Deng Mayar to cushion the advantage at nine which was more than enough for the host on a historic afternoon inside the Betty.

The Hawks’ attention turns to the Omaha-Kansas City swing next week. UND will be in Omaha on Thursday to take on the Mavericks and will battle the Roos on Saturday in Kansas City. The Hawks dropped its Summit League opener at home to Omaha but defeated the Roos in a tightly played contest in Grand Forks.

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

• North Dakota shot 69% from the floor and finished at +9 in turnover margin in the first half
• For the contest, UND shot a season-high 55.2% from the floor and a season-high 52.6% from three-point range behind the sixth game this season with ten made threes
• UND attempted a Summit League-play low nine free throw attempts
• Due in large part to their ability to hit shots, the Hawks grabbed a season-low three offensive rebounds and finished with a season-low 23 total rebounds, while ending -21 in the category against the Jackrabbits
• North Dakota matched its season low in turnovers with six, all of which came in the second half, and has now committed fewer than ten turnovers in six of nine Summit League contests
• UND’s eight steals are the second-most against a Summit League foe this season and the third most in a game overall
• The Hawks finished at +9 in turnovers (6-15) and +17 in points off of turnovers (19-2) and edged SDSU in paint scoring at 36-30
• North Dakota led for 38:27 and did not trail in a game for the third time this season
• All five UND starters finished in double figures
• King’s career-high two dozen points were a result of a career-best shooting effort in field goals made (10) and field goal attempts (16)
• King finished with two steals, two assists, one block and a rebound
• Eaglestaff produced 19 points with 15 coming in the second half as he, King and Mara all hit three three-point attempts
• Mara finished with ten points on three first-half threes and a key free throw in the second half
• Panoam finished with a career-high three steals and added a dozen points on 6-of-9 shooting
• Kuljuhovic scored 11 points and led UND with six rebounds
• Senior forward Brian Mathews led with three assists with one finding a darting King in the first half which helped spur the latter’s scoring effort
• The Hawks held SDSU to its second lowest overall shooting clip in nine Summit League games
• UND withstood a 19-rebound, 10-point double-double from Cluff, a 20-point afternoon from Joe Sayler and two other Jackrabbits in double-figure scoring

How It Happened

First Half
15:25 – UND 11, SDSU 5 (UND 3-of-last-3 FGs, King 7 pts)
11:56 – UND 19, SDSU 9 (UND 8-0 run over 2:25; SDSU 3 TOs last 2:47)
7:17 – UND 32, SDSU 19 (UND 4-of-last-4 FGs, +7 TOs)
5:32 – UND 41, SDSU 22 (UND 6-0 run over 0:37)
2:37 – UND 45, SDSU 28 (King 18 pts, ties career-high)
HALF – UND 50, SDSU 35 (UND +9 TOs, 69% FG%)

Second Half
17:14 – UND 53, SDSU 45 (SDSU 7-0 run over 1:19, 10-3 run to open half)
14:42 – UND 60, SDSU 47 (UND 3-of-last-3 FGs, 7-2 run)
11:58 – UND 62, SDSU 51
7:32 – UND 66, SDSU 53 (SDSU 1-of-last-9 FGs, 3:01 scoring drought)
3:24 – UND 72, SDSU 59
0:46.1 – UND 77, SDSU 71 (SDSU 4-of-last-5 FGs)
FINAL – UND 80, SDSU 75