SOUTH BEND, Ind. – North Dakota men's basketball dropped a non-conference affair to Notre Dame on Tuesday evening inside Purcell Pavilion, but not before the visitors employed a valiant effort in the opening twenty minutes to trail by just seven points at the half of a 75-58 loss to the Fighting Irish. The action evens UND's overall record at 2-2, while Notre Dame remains unbeaten at 4-0.
 
The Hawks were locked in early in South Bend as an active Eli King denied the Irish's first bucket of the evening, drew an offensive foul a couple of possessions later and then assisted Amar Kuljuhovic inside for a 5-4 North Dakota lead. UND got on the board with the game's first points on a Mier Panoam trifecta and then grabbed a 7-4 advantage on a soft touch floater along the baseline by Treysen Eaglestaff.
 
Notre Dame answered with a 7-0 run which grew to 15-2 and a 17-9 lead with 11:20 to play in the first half. The Hawks would not go away quietly as a 7-0 run which included an inside bucket by Kuljuhovic, three free throws from Panoam after he was fouled in an attempt beyond-the-arc and a driving layup by Eaglestaff pulled North Dakota to a single point of the deficit at 17-16 at the 9:48 mark of the first half.
 
The Irish' advantage would grow to only seven down the stretch, while the Hawks pulled as close as three in the final 60 seconds prior to the intermission as Eaglestaff knocked down a triple try to bring UND to within a possession at 34-31.
 
The Fighting Irish opened the second half on a 13-3 run as part of a 15-7 start to the final twenty minutes. Eaglestaff hit a pair of second-half three-point attempts as did Dariyus Woodson, while George Natsvishvili sank an attempt as well. Woodson's pair came within 90 seconds of each below the under-8 media and kept the Hawks within 14 of the host.
 
North Dakota preps for a busy week leading into the Thanksgiving holiday. UND heads to California to take on Loyola Marymount in the first stage of the Cancun Challenge. Tip-off from inside LMU's Gersten Pavilion is set for 9 p.m. It will be just the second meeting all-time between the Fighting Hawks and Lions. LMU defeated UND 83-60 on November 14, 2009, at the Grizzly Tournament in Missoula, Montana. The match up signifies the first time in UND's DI era that the Hawks will have tipped off in each of the four time zones of the continental United States prior to December. 
 
Fans can follow the action live with Fighting Hawks men's basketball radio play-by-play voice Paul Ralston on KSNR 100.3 FM The Cat or on the iHeart Radio app. The action can be seen on ESPN+ and live stats for the contest will be available at www.FightingHawks.com.
 
Postgame Notes

• The Hawks hit a season-high nine three-pointers at .333, while taking a season-low eight attempts from the stripe
• UND recorded 14 offensive rebounds and has reached that mark in each of the last three games
• The Hawks recorded ten assists and have reached double figures in helpers for the third-straight contest
• Once again, UND deployed a pesky perimeter defense holding the Irish to just three makes in 17 attempts; in four games the opposition has failed to convert on 24% or more of its shots from deep
• North Dakota out-rebounded Notre Dame 38-36, but the Irish finished +8 in steals and +7 in points off turnovers
• Eaglestaff led UND with 13 points on five made shots including three from deep in a team-high 32 minutes
• Woodson and Panoam each scored 11 which is a UND-best for both first-year Hawks
• Kuljuhovic added nine points on four made shots
• King matched Eaglestaff in minutes, chipped in with six points and filled up his stat line with a team-leading nine rebounds of which six were off of the offensive glass to go along with two assists and a block
• Panoam grabbed a season-high eight boards and Eaglestaff led in helpers with three
• Notre Dame shot 52% from the floor with a pair of players in double figure scoring led by preseason All-ACC first team selection Markus Burton's 29 points on 13-of-20 shooting.
• Burton led the Irish with nine rebounds and three assists

 
How It Happened
 
First Half
15:46 – Hawks 7, Irish 6
10:35 – Irish 17, Hawks 11
6:26 – Irish 23, Hawks 21
3:17 – Irish 32, Hawks 28
HALF – Irish 38, Hawks 31
 
Second Half
13:27 – Irish 53, Hawks 38
9:32 – Irish 62, Hawks 47
7:51– Irish 62, Hawks 49
3:34 – Irish 73, Hawks 55
FINAL – Irish 75, Hawks 58
 
For more information on North Dakota men's basketball, visit FightingHawks.com or follow on social media @UNDmbasketball.