GRAND FORKS, N.D. – The North Dakota men's basketball team returned to the Betty Friday night, hosting the St. Thomas Tommies in a matchup of 8-5 teams. The Fighting Hawks were unable to find a rhythm offensively, shooting 30.6% from the floor in the game.

B.J. Omot led UND with 11 points, while Tsotne Tsartsidze led with eight rebounds and Eli King led with four assists.

NoDak got on the board first with a free throw from Amar Kuljuhovic at 16:39, then the first field goal was a three from Tyree Ihenacho at 10:37—the start of a 13-7 run that made it a 14 point game at 28-14. But the Fighting Hawks could not get the shots to fall consistently in the half and trailed 41-14 at the intermission.

Treysen Eaglestaff came out of the intermission with a three pointer, and UND outscored UST in the second half 31-29. But the hole was too big for the green and white to dig out of as UST took their Summit League opener for both teams.

North Dakota will be back on the court on Sunday in Brookings, S.D.; taking on South Dakota State at 2 p.m.

Postgame Notes 

·        UND nearly doubled their shooting percentage in the second half—going from 20.8% to 40%.

·        Eaglestaff blocked two shots for the fifth time in his career.

·        King had two of the nine NoDak steals.

·        Parker Bjorklund led all scorers with 21 for St. Thomas.

·        UND scored the fewest points in a game since scoring 44 at Iowa State last season.

How It Happened 

First Half

15:48 – UST 7, UND 1

11:47 – UST 18, UND 1

6:42 – UST 28, UND 12

3:26 – UST 32, UND 14

Half – UST 41, UND 14

Second Half

14:35 – UST 47, UND 20

11:49 – UST 51, UND 22

7:37 – UST 57, UND 28

2:49 – UST 69, UND 39

Final – UST 70, UND 45

For more information on North Dakota men's basketball, follow on social media @UNDmbasketball or visit FightingHawks.com.