GRAND FORKS, N.D. – The North Dakota men's basketball team picked up their third straight win Saturday afternoon defeating Omaha 76-73 in overtime. It is the second three game winning streak of the season for the Hawks and the first three game winning streak in Summit League play since the 2018-19 season. This was a back-and-forth game with 20 lead changes and 13 ties.
Matt Norman led the Hawks with 21 points—his 11th straight game scoring in double figures. Tsotne Tsartsize scored 17 and finished one rebound short of a double-double with nine boards. Jalun Trent picked up his first double-double in a Hawks uniform as he led the team with 13 rebounds and 12 points. Brady Danielson scored 15 points and tied with Tsartsidze with three assists (which led the team).
UND scored the first five points of the game with a jumper from Danielson and a three from Norman, but for parts of the first half both teams played great defense and points were hard to come by. The Hawks started 1-6 from three point range, but also limited the Mavericks to a single trey and both teams shot 40% or lower through the first eight minutes of the game. UND took a 13-9 lead, but the Mavericks answered with a 10-0 run to take their first lead of the game.
UND was down 30-19 with just over four minutes left in the half, but for the rest of the half the Hawks went on a 14-2 run. Trent started the run with a layup and then four from the foul line from Tsartsidze and Danielson made it a five point game and then Danielson and Norman hit back to back threes to put the Hawks back on top 31-30. Omaha answered before the end of the half but Danielson came through in the clutch again as he put UND back on top before the intermission. The Hawks led 33-32 at halftime despite the struggles shooting, but the Hawks defense stood out in the half as they forced ten turnovers in the half and scored 11 points off of them.
To start the second half the teams traded a one point lead a few times before being tied at 36. From there UND went on an 8-2 run, capped off by a three pointer from B.J. Omot. The grind continued as both teams played well on defense and neither were able to create distance from the other. The Hawks shot 40% for the half but limited the Mavericks to 37.5% shooting from the floor. With 4:16 left in the half it was tied at 61, and with 1:58 to go Omaha led 62-61. Trent came up with a big play as he stole an inbounds pass and took it the other way for a layup that put UND ahead. He did not convert the free throw that would have made it a three point play, but on the next UND possession he made a layup and converted the foul shot that put UND up 66-64. After a foul on a three point shot, Omaha went 2-3 from the foul line and tied it up to send the game to overtime.
Omaha started overtime on a 6-0 run, but Tsartsidze made a huge three pointer that energized the Hawks. Later, down four points the Hawks drew a crucial foul and it allowed Treysen Eaglestaff to get a crucial basket with an and-one to bring UND within one point. Danielson also converted a three point play with 20 seconds left to put UND up 75-73 and Norman got the last free throw for the Hawks to seal the deal.
North Dakota will head back on the road next week as they go to Tulsa to take on Oral Roberts Thursday and then go to Kansas City on Saturday to take on the Roos. The game will be carried on the Home of Economy Radio Network.
Postgame Notes
- Following the result, North Dakota leads the all-time series 57-44.
- B.J. Omot played all 45 minutes.
- The Hawks came back from an 11 point deficit to win for the first time since March of 2020 against South Dakota.
- Both teams had double digit runs in the first half (10-0 for Omaha, 12-0 for UND).
- Tsartsidze has now scored in double figures in eight straight games.
- Four players fouled out in overtime.
- The Hawks scored 30 points in the paint to 26 for Omaha.
How It Happened
First Half
- 15:43 – UND 5, Omaha 5
- 11:51 – UND 9, Omaha 9
- 7:38 – Omaha 19, UND 16
- 3:02 – Omaha 30, UND 21
- 0:00 – UND 33, Omaha 32
Second Half
- 15:32 – UND 41, Omaha 36
- 11:59 – UND 46, Omaha 45
- 5:49 – UND 58, Omaha 55
- 3:39 – UND 61, Omaha 61
- 0:00 – UND 66, Omaha 66
Overtime
