GRAND FORKS, N.D. – The North Dakota men's basketball team suffered its first home loss of the 2023-24 season Saturday, dropping an 83-72 decision to Portland at the Betty.
Tsotne Tsartsidze led the Fighting Hawks with 18 points, and was joined in double-figures by B.J. Omot with 17, Treysen Eaglestaff with 15 and Amar Kuljuhovic with 11. Eli King and Elijah Brooks tied for the team lead with seven rebounds while Omot led with five assists.
Portland came out with the hot hand as they scored the first eight points of the game, but the Fighting Hawks wasted no time answering—scoring the next eight points. Tsartsidze got UND on the board with a triple, followed by a jumper from Omot and a three from Kuljuhovic. Portland answered with the next eight and held the lead through the middle of the first half, until 7:05 when Brooks completed an and-one to knot the game up at 27. Kuljuhovic put UND on top for the first time by going 2-2 from the foul line and made the score 29-27. The tail end of the first half was back-and-forth with the hosts leading 36-33 at the intermission.
The Fighting Hawks held the early lead in the second half, keeping the Pilots at bay. At the 17:07 mark Portland tied it up at 41, but UND got right back on top. Over the next few minutes the teams seesawed back-and-forth giving and taking the lead, and tied at 49 Kuljuhovic hit a jumper to put the green and white up by two, but it was the final lead of the game for NoDak as Portland hit a three and didn't trail the rest of the way. The Fighting Hawks got within one on two occasions, the latest being at the 4:27 mark of the second half.
North Dakota will be back at the Betty on Tuesday night hosting Waldorf College, with a 7 p.m. opening tip.
Postgame Notes
· Mambourou Mara picked up the one blocked shot for the green and white.
· UND shot 18-21 from the foul line, picking up one more point from the stripe than the Pilots.
· NoDak finished with the edge in rebounding—41 to 32 overall and 14 to six on offensive boards.
· The Fighting Hawks finished with a 15-6 edge in second chance points.
· Portland's Vukasin Masic led all scorers with 32 points.
How It Happened
First Half
15:55 – Portland 10, UND 8
11:47 – Portland 20, UND 16
7:05 – Portland 27, UND 26
2:32 – UND 34, Portland 31
Half – UND 36, Portland 33
Second Half
15:54 – UND 45, Portland 44
11:00 – Portland 55, UND 53
5:51 – Portland 65, UND 60
3:14 – Portland 72, UND 68
Final – Portland 83, UND 72
For more information on North Dakota men's basketball, follow on social media @UNDmbasketball or visit FightingHawks.com.
