Next Game: vs. Eastern Washington
The University of North Dakota men's basketball team will return home to host Eastern Washington on Saturday. Opening tip between the Fighting Hawks and Eagles is slated for 1 p.m. (CT) inside the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. Fans can watch all the action on both Midco Sports 2 and ESPN+, as well as by tuning into Paul Ralston's call on the Home of Economy Radio Network (100.3 FM/790 AM).

Series History vs. EWU
This will be the 14th meeting between the North Dakota and Eastern Washington men's basketball programs. Most recently, the Eagles won in the series on Dec. 8, 2019, by a tally of 98-82 in Cheney, Wash. The last win for the Hawks in the series was a 95-86 victory on Feb. 9, 2017, at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. EWU has taken the last three games of the series but UND owns a 7-6 edge all-time between the two programs.

Last Time Out
North Dakota had momentum at intermission at California Baptist after a made layup from Bentiu Panoam at the buzzer to trim the deficit to 40-34, but hot shooting (58.1 percent) from CBU proved to be too much for UND to overcome in the 89-71 decision inside the CBU Events Center on Tuesday night. The Lancers did most of their damage in the paint, finishing with a 56-28 advantage in points in the paint.

Paul Bruns led UND with a new season high of 19 points, including a season-best four made shots from deep. Mitchell Sueker was next in scoring for UND with 13 points to go with a team-high five rebounds.

Most Recently for EWU
Eastern Washington had a 55-51 lead with 2:55 to go at Colorado, but the Buffaloes went on a 9-2 scoring run in the final minutes to defeat the Eagles by a score of 60-57 at the CU Events Center in Boulder on Thursday night. EWU was outrebounded by a 40-28 margin in the loss, while shooting 40.0 percent. Colorado also held a 34-22 edge in points in the paint.

Three Eagles scored double figures, led by Steele Venters with 23 points. It was the fifth 20-point performance of the year for Venters and his third-straight. Ethan Price and Mason Landdeck also added 11 points apiece.

A Little About David Riley
David Riley is in his first year as the head coach of the Eastern Washington men's basketball program, but is extremely familiar with EWU, spending seven seasons as an assistant coach from 2014-2021 and spending three years as the men's basketball director of operations before that.

His uncle, Mike Riley, has been a head football coach at Nebraska (2015-2017), Oregon State (1997-1998, 2003-2014), the San Diego Chargers (1999-2001) and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (1987-1990). His grandfather, Bud Riley, was an assistant football coach at Idaho (1962-65), Oregon State (1965-1972) and the head coach of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (1974-1977).

Samaritan's Feet
The North Dakota men's basketball coaching staff will be barefoot when coaching the game against Eastern Washington on Saturday in support of the Samaritan's Feet shoe drive. Samaritan's Feet looks to inspire hope through the gift of shoes, the act of washing feet, and encouraging those who need it most. Since its founding in 2003, Samaritan's Feet and its partners have distributed over eight million pairs of shoes in 108 countries and over 440 cities in the United States. 

Fearless Freshman
Freshman Paul Bruns has played a key role in the success of the team so far this season, and it has paid off with him earning three collegiate starts. Most recently, Bruns netted a season-best 19 points at California Baptist, while also adding three rebounds, one assist and a steal. Of his 19 points, 12 of them came from beyond the arc with him hitting four triples in the contest.

Bruns does not shy away from tough competition, leading the team with 13 points against Milwaukee, 18 at Florida International, 16 at Kansas State and 19 at California Baptist. The Jefferson, S.D., native has a team leading 18 made three-pointers this season and averages 1.5 steals per game.

Keeping Things Even
North Dakota had five returners in 2021-22 and nine newcomers and so far, they are keeping things even. As a team, the Fighting Hawks have scored 656 points this season with the newbies pouring in 334 of them and the returners amassing 322 points. In total, the newcomers have scored 50.91 percent of the points this season, while the returners have accounted for 49.09 percent of UND's made shots.

Heat Check
North Dakota is familiar with shots from beyond the arc and that has not changed this season, with the Fighting Hawks firing off 250 shots from deep and knocking down 77 of them for an average of 30.8 percent made from three-point land. The best three-point shooting performance this year came at Florida Atlantic where the Hawks shot 48.3 percent from deep, knocking down 14 of the 29 tries. The most three-pointers ever hit in a game by North Dakota is 16, which occurred against Northland College on Dec. 17, 2019. The Fighting Hawks have 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 the Hawks went 0-8 from downtown at Northern Colorado in a 79-66 loss. UND has hit at least one three in each of the last 103 games played.

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.