Hawks beat at buzzer in thriller at Omaha
PHOTO/KERRY RING
OMAHA, Neb. (UND ATHLETICS)– North Dakota junior guard Treysen Eaglestaff hit an off balanced running three-point attempt with under 15 seconds remaining in Thursday night’s Summit League affair at league-leading Omaha to tie the contest with the Mavericks at 77. However, the host would get the final say as JJ White hit a wing triple, after having it tipped away courtesy of a solid defensive effort from junior guard Eli King, near the Omaha bench with no time remaining to help the league leaders escape the Fighting Hawks 80-77 inside Baxter Arena.
Eaglestaff hit a three-point attempt less than a minute into the start of the second half to tie the game at 38 and in between his two shots, the Hawks and the Mavericks engaged in a thrilling second half of action that saw 14 lead changes and 14 tied scores. For the contest, the two sides totaled 23 lead changes and 21 tied scores.
UND’s largest deficit in the final twenty minutes was just five points at 59-54 with just under 10:30 to play. An emphatic jam inside by senior forward Deng Mayar and a hook shot on the next possession from senior forward Amar Kuljuhovic pulled the Hawks to within 59-58. UND would find the double bonus at the 5:20 mark as Kuljuhovic made good on two efforts from the stripe to give the Hawks a 66-65 lead. White closed the game for the Mavericks on a personal 12-0 run.
A back-and-forth battle developed early on and blanketed a quick twenty minutes of action. The host grabbed a 7-6 at the first media stoppage with a 5-1 run over a span of three minutes, but the advantage would not last long as the Hawks engineered an 8-0 run over 2:14 to grab a 14-12 lead at the under-12 media timeout.
During that run, Omaha native Reggie Thomas drained a corner three ball for the Hawks and King followed moments later with a deep attempt as both trifectas served as key moments in UND grabbing a lead midway through the half. North Dakota held the lead down through the under-8 media which was signaled at the 6:55 mark as sophomore Mier Panoam went to work inside using three tough makes to keep the Hawks out front 20-19.
North Dakota held a 31-28 lead with the clock nearing the three-minute mark as both teams made six of their seven attempts down through the final media timeout. The host would take the lead into the halftime break as a 6-1 run, which included free throws on a technical foul, over the half’s final 1:48 gave UNO a 38-35 lead.
Within the Hawks’ first half performance, which saw eight players score and four record five or more points, was a team-leading seven points from Kuljuhovic who also delivered three helpers.
The Hawks trip down to Kansas City for a Saturday evening tilt with the Roos. North Dakota bested KC 76-72 on January 18 in Grand Forks. It will be the 15th meeting all-time between the two programs. KC holds the series lead 8-6, but the Hawks have four of the past five matchups.
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
- The Hawks posted its second highest shooting effort of the season at 54.2% and has shot better than 54% in each of its last two games
- UND hit nine three-point shots; the 12th time this season with at least nine makes and the effort came behind a season high 56.3% effort from range
- The Hawks went 16-of-20 from the line marking the seventh time this season with an 80% or better effort from the stripe
- It was the sixth game and second time against Omaha this season that UND posted 15 or more assists
- Panoam and Kuljuhovic each scored 17 points on a collective 11-of-18 shooting in addition to combining for 13 rebounds
- Kuljuhovic recorded a career high five steals and King added four
- Eaglestaff finished with 14 points with a trio of made three-point shots
- Eaglestaff added five rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal
- Mayar’s 13 points came on a career high six made shots in six attempts
- Omaha finished +13 in fast break points and turned 11 UND turnovers into 15 points
- White’s final shot gave him 24 for the game as he led three other Mavericks in double-figure scoring
How It Happened
First Half
15:31 – UNO 7, UND 6 (UNO 5-1 run last 3:00; UND 1-of-last-7 FGs)
11:08 – UND 14, UNO 12 (UND 8-0 run over 2:14; UNO 2:14 scoreless)
6:55 – UND 20, UNO 19 (UNO 3-of-last-4 3pt FGs; UND – Panoam 3-of-last-4 FGs)
3:18 – UND 31, UNO 28 (Both teams 6-of-last-7 FGs)
HALF – UNO 38, UND 35 (UNO 6-1 run over last 1:48)
Second Half
14:01 – UNO 47, UND 46 (UND 11-9 to start 2H)
10:24 – UNO 59, UND 54 (UNO 6-0 run over 0:56)
7:37 – UNO 61, UND 59 (UND 5-2 run, 53.3% 3pt FGS)
2:46 – UNO 73, UND 70 (UNO 5-0 run over 1:23)
FINAL – UNO 80, UND 77 (JJ White buzzer beater)
