Next Game: vs. Dixie State
The North Dakota men's basketball program will host Dixie State at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center at 1 p.m. on Saturday. Fans can follow all the action on FightingHawks.com, as well as by tuning into Paul Ralston's call on the Home of Economy Radio Network (1440 AM/790 AM).
 
Series History vs. DSU
This will be the second meeting between the North Dakota and Dixie State men's basketball programs, with the Fighting Hawks falling 74-73 in St. George, Utah, on Dec. 3, 2020, to give the Trailblazers their first win as a member of Division I. North Dakota trailed by as many as 12 with just two minutes left to play before cutting the deficit down to three in the final seconds, but Dixie State held off the visitors at the free throw line in the final seconds to hold on for the victory.
 
Mitchell Sueker led the kelly green and white in that contest with 19 points and eight rebounds. Filip Rebraca was next in scoring for UND with 15 points and six rebounds. Frank Staine and Jacob Nicolds are the top returners from that game for DSU, netting 19 and 17 points, respectively.
 
Last Time Out
North Dakota broke both the school record and the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center record for made three-pointers in a game with 17, en route to a 110-65 win over North Central University on Tuesday evening. Six Hawks netted double figures in the victory, and every UND player that suited up scored points.
 
The Hawks were led by Matt Norman, pacing the team with a new career-high 23 points, including a season-best seven made triples. He also dished out a team leading six assists while pulling down five rebounds.
 
Most Recently for DSU
Dixie State defeated SAGU American Indian College, 114-49, inside Burns Arena on Wednesday night. In the game, DSU shattered the school record of 16 made three-pointers, with 21 made triples over the Warriors. In addition to the 21 made trifectas, the Trailblazers 114 points are the second-most in DSU's program history in the NCAA era.
 
Eleven different Trailblazers scored at least one basket, led by Frank Staine, who hit five triples for a season-high 15 points.
 
Fearless Freshman
Freshman Paul Bruns has played a key role in the success of UND this season, and it has paid off with him earning five collegiate starts. He currently leads all freshmen in the Summit League, averaging 11.8 points per game and 13.6 points per game as a starter.
 
Most recently, Bruns just missed a double-double with 15 points and nine rebounds against North Central. He also accounted for two steals and a pair of assists in the win. Bruns currently has eight double digit scoring performances this season. The Jefferson, S.D., native has a team leading 24 made three-pointers and averages 1.6 steals per game.
 
Stormin' Norman
Sophomore transfer Matt Norman erupted for 23 points in the 110-65 victory over North Central, burying seven shots from beyond the arc, while dishing out a career-high six assists. Prior to the game with NCU, Norman had scored just 24 points in UND's previous games and is now second on the team in made triples with 18.
 
Heat Check
North Dakota proved the three-point threat exists on Tuesday, breaking the school record for made triples in a game with 17. The previous UND record for made shots beyond the arc in a single game was 16, which was tied three times, most recently on Dec. 17, 2019, in a 109-50 victory over Northland College inside the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.
 
The Fighting Hawks are familiar with shots from deep and that has not changed this season, with the kelly green and white firing off  317 shots from beyond the arc and knocking down 106 of them for an average of 33.4 percent made from three-point land. In the record-breaking game vs. NCU, the Hawks finished 17-of-31 from deep for an average of 54.8 percent.
 
North Dakota has hit at least one triple in every game dating back to March 1, 2018. The last time the Hawks did not make a three came on Feb. 24, 2018, when UND went 0-for-8 from downtown at Northern Colorado in a 79-66 loss. North Dakota has hit at least one three in each of the last 105 games played.
 
Keeping Things Even
North Dakota had five returners in 2021-22 and nine newcomers and so far, they are keeping things close as a team. The Fighting Hawks have scored 826 points this season with the newbies pouring in 447 of them and the returners amassing 379 points. In total, the newcomers have scored 54.12 percent of UND's total points this season, while the returners have accounted for 45.88 percent of North Dakota's made shots.
 
Shaking Things Up
North Dakota has utilized six different variations of its starting lineup so far this season and may try its seventh different starting lineup on Saturday. On the team, Bentiu Panoam has the most active consecutive starts currently with 24, followed by Paul Bruns with five. The next most common starters are Brady Danielson with two, trailed by Ethan Igbanugo and Tsotne Tsartsidze with one each.
 
Ballin' with Bentiu
Bentiu Panoam currently leads the team with 24 consecutive starts and has dished out a team-high 26 assists. Panoam has been filling the position of point guard most recently after Caleb Nero went down with an injury.
 
Early last season, Panoam provided a spark off the bench for the Fighting Hawks and worked his way into the starting lineup, earning his place as a starter in the final 13 games of the season. He decided to exercise his COVID-19 extra year of eligibility and is playing for the Fighting Hawks once again in 2021-22.
 
In 2019-20, the Anchorage, Alaska, native netted double-figure performances in five of his last six starts, recording back-to-back 20+ point games in that stretch. Panoam recorded a new career-high with 25 points against South Dakota and five rebounds at Omaha. He also set a new career-high in made triples in a single game with five at Omaha.
 
Nero the Hero
North Dakota has been without its starting point guard the last three games after going down with an injury on Dec. 3, against San Jose State. Despite not playing the last three games, Nero continues to lead the team in points per game (12.1), assists per game (2.8) and with a free throw percentage of 85.2.
 
Nero appeared in all 26 games last season and started 13 of them. The Tulsa, Okla., native proved to be a leader off the bench last season, leading all players off the bench with 8.7 points per game and 22.9 minutes per contest. He also led all guards on the team with a shooting percentage of 41.8 percent from the field and was second on the team in crunch time with an 83.3 percentage from the charity stripe.
 
In his career, Nero has piled up 25 games where he has netted double digits in points and has 17 games where has dished out three assists or more. In the season finale last season, Nero poured in 11 points in 21 minutes while grabbing three rebounds against Oral Roberts in the Summit League Quarterfinals.
 
Let's Go Igbanugo
Coming into the season, Ethan Igbanugo had the most starts at North Dakota out of everyone on the active roster. So far this season, Igbanugo has five starts and has played in 10 games after going down with an injury early in the season. Igbanugo remains dangerous from beyond the arc with 14 made triples, good for third on the team this season.
 
The Lakeville North product appeared in every game last season with 16 starts, averaging 27 minutes per game. He was a cool customer from downtown, leading the team in made triples with 40 and hitting a three in every game except one.
 
Igbanugo knocked down a career-high 18 points against North Dakota State late last season, while averaging 8.3 points per game. The Lakeville, Minn., native also went 6-for-6 from the charity stripe against Purdue Fort Wayne during the 2019-20 season.
 
Sueker Sinks Them
Mitchell Sueker has continued his hot streak from the end of last year and has six double digit scoring performances this year, averaging 11.9 per game. Even with missing the last game with an injury, Sueker is second on the team in total points scored this season with 131.
 
Sueker leads the team with 28 makes at the charity stripe this season and is second in free throw percentage, hitting at 77.8 percent. Last season, Sueker drained 56-of-67 at the charity stripe to lead the team with an 83.6 percent at the free throw line. In his career, the Marshall, Minn., native is 200-258 at the stripe, good for a free throw percentage of 77.5 percent.
 
Sueker averaged 7.7 points and 4.0 rebounds per game last year and has career-highs in points (32), rebounds (12) and assists (5). His best free throw performance came against Kansas City last year when he went 11-for-12 at the line in the 52-45 win.
 
Brady the Backbone
Brady Danielson has played in more games than any other player on the active roster, playing in 69 games and starting five of them. Danielson has been called upon most recently this season in the last two games, earning starts in both of them.
 
Last season, Danielson appeared in 25 games off the bench and averaged 13.0 minutes per game while putting in just under two points per game and just over one rebound per game. He dished out a career-high four assists at Minnesota last year.
 
In his career, Danielson netted a high of 18 points at Oregon State, while making a career-best six field goals.
 
Meet the Newbies
UND welcomed eight newcomers in 2021-22, three transfers (A'Jahni Levias - Central Wyoming College, Matt Norman - Snow College and Tsotne Tsartsidze - Southern Idaho) and five freshman (Jackson Anderson - Hillsboro, N.D., Paul Bruns - Jefferson, S.D., Reid Grant - Johnston, Iowa, Brian Mathews - Chicago, Ill. and Gavin McGrath - Onalaska, Wis.)
 
Record Rewind
The North Dakota men's basketball program holds a 1,614-1,116 all-time record since Dr. George Sweetland led the first team onto the court in 1904-05. UND is 971-300 all-time when it comes to defending its home court. The 2021-22 season is the 14th at the Division I level for the program (2008-09) and the Fighting Hawks are 194-228 in those contests.
 
UND is 0-11 since 2000 against ranked Division I opponents, with the 2019 matchup at No. 8/7 Gonzaga being the highest-ranked regular season opponent since the No. 3 ranking held by Kansas when the Jayhawks visited Grand Forks in 2001.
 
Follow Us
Receive live updates during all UND men's basketball games by following @UNDmbasketball on Twitter. Fans can also watch in-game highlights, postgame interviews, and much more through UND Insider on Twitter (@UNDInsider) or online at FightingHawks.com.

COMPLETE GAME NOTES CAN BE FOUND HERE.