Next Game: vs. Denver
The University of North Dakota will continue its homestand on Thursday with Denver at 7 p.m. (CT). Fans can follow all the action on Midco Sports and ESPN+, as well as by tuning into Paul Ralston's call on the Home of Economy Radio Network (1440 AM/790 AM).

Series History vs. DU
This will be the 10th all-time meeting between North Dakota and Denver, with UND posting a 5-4 edge in the series, including a 2-1 record in games played in Grand Forks. All five of North Dakota's wins have come in the last four seasons, with the Fighting Hawks sitting 5-2 against the Pioneers since joining the Summit League in 2018-19.

Both contests between the two squads went into overtime in Denver last season with North Dakota picking up a 85-82 victory at Hamilton Gymnasium on Feb. 5, 2021, and the Pioneers bouncing back and ending the five-game losing streak to the Hawks with an 85-81 win on their own floor the following day.

Earlier this season, the Pioneers recorded a 93-74 win over the Hawks on Jan. 8 inside Hamilton Gymnasium. In the game, Denver held an 18-7 advantage in points off turnovers while shooting 56.7 percent as a team. K.J. Hunt and Coban Porter led the Pioneers with 20 points apiece. Comparatively, North Dakota shot 51.0 percent from the floor and was led by Paul Bruns barely missing out on a double-double with 20 points and nine boards.

Last Time Out
In a game that featured three ties and both teams hauling in 40 rebounds, South Dakota State held off a surging North Dakota team to escape the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center on Monday night with a 70-64 win. The Jackrabbits never led by more than 11 points but held the edge in points off turnovers (11-8) and points in the paint (34-28).

Reid Grant showed out for North Dakota with a season-high 15 points, 10 of them coming in the second half alone. He also paced the offense with a team-high four assists. Bentiu Panoam and Paul Bruns were the other Hawks in double figures with 13 points each.

Most Recently for DU
In a game where Denver knocked down a season-high 12 three-pointers, the Pioneers fell 89-80 to the Golden Eagles inside Hamilton Gymnasium on Saturday. Denver was in the game until the 2:14 point in the second half when Oral Roberts' Trey Phipps knocked down a triple, was fouled and put in the and-one free throw to push the deficit to 80-74 in favor of ORU. 

The Pioneers had a combined 46 points from the freshman duo of Coban Porter (26) and Tevin Smith (20). Jordan Johnson was the next most productive Pioneer with 18 points, 12 coming from beyond the arc.

Attacking the Glass
As a team, North Dakota ranks fifth in the conference in rebounds per game (35.9) and is fifth in total rebounds (826) this season. When it comes to being aggressive on the offensive glass, NoDak shines with 254 boards to sit second in league play. The only team in the Summit League with more offensive boards this season is Western Illinois with 265.

Ballin' with Bentiu
Bentiu Panoam currently leads the team with 35 consecutive starts and has dished out a team-high 40 assists. Panoam has been filling the position of point guard most recently after Caleb Nero went down with an injury against San Jose State on Dec. 3. Panoam's best performance of the season came on Jan. 29 with a 19-point performance at South Dakota for a new season-high, 17 of his 19 points were scored in the second half alone. He also put together an 18-point outing at Western Illinois on Jan. 13.

Early last season, Panoam provided a spark off the bench for the Fighting Hawks and worked his way into a starting role, earning his place in the starting lineup for the final 13 games of the season. He decided to exercise his COVD-19 extra year of eligibility and is playing for the Fighting Hawks once again in 2021-22.

In 2020-21, 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 set a new career-high in made triples with five at Omaha.

Fearless Freshman
Freshman Paul Bruns has played a key role for UND this season and has 16 collegiate starts. He currently leads all freshmen in the Summit League, averaging 13.8 points per game and 15.25 points per game as a starter. In the conference, Bruns ranks 13th out of all Summit League players with his 13.8 points per game this season and is ninth in games played in the conference with 15.5 points per game.

Bruns had a highlight-reel performance at North Dakota State on Dec. 22, pouring in a season-high 27 points and pulling down 11 boards for the first double-double of his career. He has 16 double-digit scoring performances and four 20-point performances this season. He has made a team leading 47 made trifectas and averages 2.0 made triples per game to rank 10th in the Summit League in that category.

Bruns is also seventh in the league in average steals per game with 1.2, which is also a team high.

Stormin' Norman
Sophomore transfer Matt Norman worked his way back into the starting lineup and led NoDak with a career-high 27 points against Western Illinois on Jan. 13, netting 20 points alone in the second half.

After adding 11 points at Oral Roberts on Jan. 20, Norman now has eight double-digit performances as a Hawk and three 20-point performances, including a 23-point game in 110-65 victory over North Central on Dec. 14, burying seven shots from beyond the arc and dishing out a career-best six assists in the victory.

Norman currently ranks second on the team in made triples with 36 makes from deep and is a 32.4 percent three-point shooter.

Defensive Danielson
Brady Danielson has played in more games than any other player on the active roster, playing in 80 games and starting 12 of them. Despite being best known for his defense, Danielson threw in a season-high 10 points and corralled seven rebounds at Omaha on Jan. 6.

At Oral Roberts on Jan. 20, Danielson paced the team on the glass with a career-high 11 boards and dished out a career-best five assists. He also netted six points and drew one charge.

This season alone, Danielson has drawn a team-high 13 offensive fouls. He drew a season-high three charges against Dixie State on Dec. 18.

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 season.

In his career, Danielson erupted for 18 points at Oregon State, while making a career-best six field goals.

Finding A Groove
Sophomore transfer Tsotne Tsartsidze is coming into his own at post and had a highlight reel performance against Dixie State, rejecting a career-best four shots and just missing out on a double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds.

On Jan. 20, Tsartsidze was second on the team in rebounds with seven, while being responsible for three assists and six points in the game. On Jan. 13, Tsartsidze cleaned the glass against Western Illinois with a career-high 13 rebounds to go with seven points, while also pacing the offense with three assists. On Dec. 22 against the Bison, Tsartsidze knocked down a career-best seven shots for a new career high of 18 points. 

Tsartsidze has eight double-digit scoring performances this season and is third on the team in total points scored this year with 182. His 18 total blocks this year currently sits fourth in the Summit League. Tsartsidze averages 5.7 rebounds per game to rank ninth in the conference in that category and his 132 total rebounds currently sits sixth in league play.

Let's Go Igbanugo
Ethan Igbanugo recently put together three highlight reel performances in a row. At South Dakota State on Jan. 27, Igbanugo poured in a career-high 24 points while going 7-for-7 at the free throw line. The week prior, he helped North Dakota erase second-half deficits of 14 (at Oral Roberts) and 17 (at Kansas City). At Oral Roberts, Igbanugo was second in scoring for NoDak with 17 points, 13 of them coming in the second half alone. Against the Golden Eagles, Igbanugo also led the team defensively with two steals and a block. At Kansas City, Igbanugo led the Fighting Hawks with a career-high tying 18 points on 50.0 percent shooting while also rejecting one shot.

Igbanugo has always been known as a sharpshooter and that has continued this season, with knocking down 29 trifectas on 93 attempts to rank third on the team in made triples. His shooting percentage from beyond the arc is currently 31.2 percent. He knocked down a career-high five shots from deep against Dixie State on Dec. 18.

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.

Wishes Granted
Reid Grant has been earning more playing time recently and his effort showed on Monday night, with him putting together a season-high 15 points while playing in a season-high 31 minutes against the Jackrabbits. Of his 15 points, 10 of them came in the second half while also going 5-of-5 at the charity stripe. Grant also dished out a team-leading four assists.

Prior to Monday night, Grant's season-high point total was six points against Eastern Washington on Dec. 11. His career-high for assists is five at Kansas State on Nov. 28, 2021.

Mathews Knocks Them Down
Freshman Brian Mathews is seeing additional minutes with Mitchell Sueker out with a season-ending injury, and he is making the most of it. In Brookings on Jan. 27, Mathews was second in scoring for the kelly green and white with 10 points.

The week prior, Mathews erupted for 16 points at Kansas City to tie for second on the team in scoring in the game. Of his 16 points, 12 of them came at the free throw line where Mathews shined, going 12-of-13 in the game to go with seven rebounds and two assists.

Mathews' season-high scoring output was a 17-point performance against North Central (Minn.) on Dec. 14. In that game Mathews knocked down seven of his eight shots from the field and corralled five boards.

COMPLETE GAME NOTES CAN BE FOUND HERE.