North Dakota at Utah Valley || 12/11 (7 p.m.)
10th meeting; UVU leads 5-4
2nd meeting this season; UND won 77-71
Orem, Utah (UCCU Center)

FULL GAME NOTES ARE HERE

GRAND FORKS, N.D. - After a return home for the just the second time this season, North Dakota heads back out onto the road for game No. 10 of the '24-25 campaign. The Hawks tip-off against Utah Valley at 7 p.m. on Wednesday night from inside the UCCU Center in Orem. Fans can follow the action live with UND men's basketball radio play-by-play voice Paul Ralston on KSNR 100.3 FM The Cat or on the iHeart Radio app, while the action will be available ESPN+. Live stats will be provided at www.FightingHawks.com.

SERIES HISTORY VS. UTAH VALLEY
UND and Utah Valley meet for the tenth time all-time and for the second time in nearly a month. The Hawks moved a win closer to evening the series with its November 14 home victory over the Wolverines. UVU leads the series 5-4. Prior to the first matchup of the season, the two sides last squared off on the hardwood on in November of 2018 with UVU won 74-68 at home. North Dakota carries a 1-3 record against the Wolverines in Orem. The Hawks won a 67-62 decision in the first-ever meeting between the former Great West Conference foes in January of 2010, but have lost three straight on the road against the Wolverines. 

SO WE MEET AGAIN
North Dakota opened the Grand Forks portion of its schedule in grand fashion and on short rest knocking off Utah Valley 77-71 inside a jam-packed Betty Engelstad Sioux Center just two days after beating Dickinson State 85-54 in Bismarck's Capital City Classic. 

Junior guard Treysen Eaglestaff became the first Summit League player this season to reach the 30-point mark as he recorded his second career 30-point game with 31 points on a career-high ten made shots. The contest featured 23 lead changes with the two sides deadlocked seven times. 

"Trailing 57-56 with 5:50 remaining in the game, junior guard Eli King stuffed a baseline shot attempt to keep the deficit at one and 15 seconds later Eaglestaff nailed a step-back three from the right wing to push the Hawks out front 59-57. The following trip down the floor, sophomore guard Mier Panoam remained instep with a driving Trevan Leonhardt and denied a shot off the glass with 5:11 to play.
 
While Eaglestaff' first three-point make of the afternoon, a rhythm three around the 15:20 mark of the second half, cut the Hawks' deficit to one at 43-42 and his second gave the host a lead with under six to play, it was his third hit from deep, with less than 3:30 to play, that put the Hawks up seven at 64-57. The lead grew to nine on UND's next possession as Panoam helped a trapped Eaglestaff along the right wing before driving by a defender and finishing through contact with a successful free throw attempt moments later.
 
UND put the Wolverines away at the stripe as four different Hawks knocked in free throws in the final minute with perfect trips to the line from junior forward Dariyus Woodson, Eaglestaff and Panoam. UND absorbed the scoring efforts of four Wolverines that finished in double figures. Ethan Potter led UVU with 20 points, Dominick Nelson and Leonhardt each added a dozen and Tanner Toolson followed with ten. 
 
Not to be lost in Eaglestaff's scoring output was senior forward Amar Kuljuhovic's 17 points on an efficient 6-of-7 shooting with five makes from the charity stripe. He added six rebounds with five coming in the second half. Additionally, King, who finished with just a bucket, delivered in every other aspect of the box score recording a game-high eight rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block. His first ten minutes were pivotal for the Hawks as King grabbed a pair of offensive rebounds and two steals."

LAST TIME OUT
The Hawks snapped a three-game losing streak in Saturday's win against Weber State. It was the sixth victory for the Hawks against the Wildcats and the first for UND in four tries in Big Sky-Summit Challenge action. 

UND used career nights from sophomores Mier Panoam and George Natsvishvili as well as the double-figure scoring efforts of three other Fighting Hawks to beat WSU 80-75. Panoam's ability to drive and finish inside was a consistent problem for the Wildcats as was Natsvishvili who registered the first double-double of his career as he sparked the Hawks off of the bench. The pair of first-year Hawks provided multiple big plays for UND in both halves, but each delivered late in the second half.
 
A three from the top of the key by junior guard Eli King, his third of the night, with just over ten to play in addition to a baseline drive and bucket from junior guard Treysen Eaglestaff with just over eight remaining kept the Hawks out front by a possession before the surging Wildcats pulled to within a point at 58-57 with 8:04 remaining.
 
Natsvishvili and Panoam combined for 10 of UND's 11 points over the next 4:30 of play as UND clung to a 68-66 lead at the 4:08 mark of the second half. Both of Natsvishvili's buckets were second-chance opportunities and each extended a one-point UND lead to three, while Panoam took the fight inside with three paint buckets including an and-one that broke a 60-60 tie and an off-balance finish following an offensive board that put the Hawks up six at 68-62.
 
Following the under-4 media timeout, Eaglestaff hit a pair of free throws to put UND up 70-66, but the Wildcats answered with two free throws and a go-ahead three-pointer from Viljami Vartianinen that pushed the visitors up 71-70. Two free throws from Panoam put the Hawks back on top at 72-71 and again at 74-73, but the Wildcats grabbed the lead again with sixty seconds to go. However, Panoam saved his most impressive drive for the end as he challenged WSU inside finishing through contact with a right hand off the glass.
 
The Hawks finished 4-of-6 from the stripe in the final twenty seconds and forced the Wildcats into a late backcourt violation and an errant midcourt pass that ended up out-of-bounds near the timeline with less than five seconds left.

AGAINST WEBER: The victory gives the Hawks a 2-0 start at home against DI opponents for the first time under Sather...UND finished +12 in rebounding and grabbed 19 offensive rebounds, the second-most in a game this season, to finish +14 in the category...It was the Hawks' fourth game with 40 or more rebounds this season...UND shot 43.8% from the floor which marked the fifth time this season that the Hawks have shot better than 43% overall...North Dakota made a season-low four three pointers, with three coming from Eli King, at a season-low 21.1%...The Hawks made 20 free throws for the second time this season and for the second time in as many home games; UND finished 10-for-14 from the line in the final five minutes of the game and moved to 33-for-44 from the stripe in the final five minutes of a single-digit game this season...UND reached 80 points for the third time this season and has scored 80 points in consecutive games against non-conference DI opponents for the first time under Sather...Five Hawks finished in double figures for the first time since February 1 of last season...Natsvishvili finished with career-highs in points (12), rebounds (10), field goals made (6), field goal attempts (11) and minutes played (24); he had seven points, and 11 rebounds combined in his first seven games this season...Panoam's career-high 22 points, his eighth game this season in double-figure scoring, came on 7-of-15 shooting and an 8-for-10 effort from the free-throw line...

ROAD HAWKS
Wednesday's matchup at Utah Valley is the seventh outside the state of North Dakota for the Hawks in ten games this season. UND's meeting with Eastern Washington bookended a five-game stretch away from Grand Forks with three of the five standing as true road contests. The Hawks' west coast tip-off against Loyola Marymount marked the first time in program history that UND men's basketball contested in each of the four time zones of the continental United States prior to December. Including UND's in-state neutral site affair against Dickinson State in Bismarck, the Hawks flocked nearly 11,000 miles during the first five weeks of the season. Forecasting the remaining travel prior to the New Year has the Hawks totaling over 16,200 during its non-conference slate.

BUSY STRETCH
The Hawks stare down a busy ten-day stretch prior to the Christmas holiday. North Dakota's matchup with UVU in Orem starts the five-game stretch which is capped off on Friday, December 20 against South Dakota Mines. In between, the Hawks will travel to Texas-San Antonio (Dec. 13), host Texas-San Antonio (Dec. 15) and battle #7/8 Alabama (Dec. 18) inside the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. 

BIG SKY-SUMMIT CHALLENGE
The Hawks earned the program's first win in the Big Sky-Summit Challenge with Saturday's victory vs. Weber State. UND improved to 1-3 in two seasons of the challenge which has been competitive for the Hawks as the four games have been decided by less than six points per game. 

A year ago, North Dakota dropped a home contest with Northern Colorado (L, 87-97) and a road tilt at Northern Arizona (L, 73-74) in last season's inaugural matchups. The Summit League won the challenge by 102 points.

UND was no stranger to the Big Sky having spent six seasons in the league from 2012-13 through 2017-18. The Hawks won 58 league games as a conference member which included the regular season title at 14-4 in 2016-17. That same season, the Hawks won the conference tournament title and received the Big Sky's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

NOW BOARDING
Flights haven't been the only thing the Hawks have been boarding this season. The offensive glass has been controlled by UND in six of the squad's nine games and the Hawks have been outrebounded on the offensive glass just once. 

UND has grabbed 13 or more offensive rebounds in each of its last eight games and has crossed over 10 in every game but its season opener at Colorado State. Five Hawks have recorded 10+ offensive rebounds this season led by Amar Kuljuhovic's 25. Mier Panoam, Eli King and Brian Mathews have each picked up 15 and George Natsvishvili has registered 11 with seven coming against Weber State.

North Dakota ranks 21st nationally in offensive rebounds per game at 14.33; a mark that leads the Summit League. The squad's overall rebounding average of 38.78 ranks second in the league and is in the top 85 nationally. Overall, the Hawks have out-rebounded their opposition five times this season. 

SEEING DOUBLE
A Hawk had yet to record a double-double of any kind entering the Big Sky-Summit Challenge. However, following a pair of matchups with Big Sky opposition, two different Hawks got in on the double-double production. 

Amar Kuljuhovic produced 17 points and a dozen rebounds in a road loss at Eastern Washington. He added two assists and a block in 31 minutes. It is his ninth double-double as a Hawk. 

Three nights later, Natsvishvili played two dozen minutes and erupted for a dozen points and ten rebounds in a career night for the sophomore and first-year Hawk. He the contest having scored just seven points with 11 rebounds across seven games totaling 60 minutes.  

TIP TOP TREY
Bismarck native Treysen Eaglestaff is among the top scorers in the Summit League as the calendar moves into December. He is averaging 18.3 points per game which rates inside the top 65 nationally and ranks second in the Summit League. His 165 total points are the fourth most in the league and his scoring effort comes behind a top five field goal percentage among Summit shooters at 44.4%.

Eaglestaff has scored in double-figures in all nine games this season crossing over the 20-point mark four times. He finished his sophomore campaign reaching the double-figure scoring mark in the final six games for an active streak of 15 games with 10+ points. 

For his career, Eaglestaff has 45 games in double-figure scoring with 11 games at 20+ points. He facilitates too leading UND with 18 assists. Thirty-three times in his UND career, Eaglestaff has made no fewer than three three-point shots. He's bottomed three shots from range five times this season. His 20 total three-point makes rank seventh in the Summit League and his 2.22 per game rate fourth.

The Bismarck native is eyeing a move up the program record books as he is currently eighth in career three-pointers with 157; 24 back of becoming the program's D1 leader in made three pointers among players that played their entire career in UND's D1 era. Additionally, he is 19 three-point attempts from third all-time in the Hawks' D1 membership. Eaglestaff continues his climb up the scoring charts aiming to move into the top 40 as he sits 98 points away from 1,000 for his career which would make him the 39th player in program history to reach the mark. 

In two games in Cancun, Eaglestaff led UND with 16.5 ppg on 35.7% shooting. He added seven rebounds, two assists and a steal to earn selection to the Cancun Challenge All-Tournament team. 

Eaglestaff's effort in wins against Dickinson State and Utah Valley (24.0 ppg, 51.9% FG, 16-of-17 FT, 7 asst., 5 rebs., 1 stl.) earned him the fourth Summit League Peak Performer of the Week award of his career. His 31 points in the win against UVU are the most for Eaglestaff inside the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center and are the most by a Hawk at home since Marlon Stewart went for 35 against North Dakota State (2/22/2020). 

He was the first Summit League player to reach 30 points in a game this season and his season-high 31 are the second-most in the league this season.

PANOAM, GET TO KNOW HIM
Sophomore transfer guard Mier Panoam is enjoying a solid start to his first season in Grand Forks. The Alaska native has scored in double figures in seven of nine games with at least 19 points in three of his last four games including a career-high 22 points in the home win over Weber State.

His performance against the Wildcats saw the first-year Hawk match a season-high in shots made (7) and set a new career-high in free throws made (8). He recorded six rebounds in the win and for the seventh time this season he crossed over five boards in a game.

Panoam is second in scoring with 13.6 points per game, in shots made with 42, in rebounding with 49 and in steals with seven. He leads the team in blocked shots with five. He ranks second on the team in offensive rebounds (15). He has recorded a dozen assists and is one of four Hawks averaging 26 or more minutes per game.

ELI'S EVERYWHERE
There's plenty to read when it comes to an Eli King stat line. The junior guard has been everywhere and done a little bit of everything for North Dakota in nine games this season.

On Saturday, the Caledonia, Minnesota native played a career-high 37 minutes and scored in double figures for the second time this campaign with a season-high 13 points to go along with two rebounds, two steals and an assist. The double-figure scoring effort was the 11th of his UND career.

In 223 minutes, the third-most among Hawks, King is second on the team in offensive rebounds with 15, which included six against Notre Dame, and owns the second-highest rebounding average at 5.6. In his past six games, King has recorded no fewer than five rebounds. He holds a team-high mark in steals (8) and paces UND in offensive fouls drawn this season with seven.

SCOUTING THE WOLVERINES
Since their November 14 meeting with UND, the Wolverines have earned wins one-possession wins over Murray State and West Georgia and enter Wednesday's tilt having lost four-consecutive games including a 14-point loss at Power 4 Stanford and a 20-point defeat to North Dakota State in Birmingham, Alabama. Currently, the Wolverines hold a NET ranking of 186. 

The Wolverines are led by second-year head coach Todd Phillips. Phillips, who is in year six on the UVU staff, led the Wolverines to a DI program-best 16 wins last season. Utah Valley was tabbed to a fifth-place finish in the nine-team Western Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches Poll. 

UVU leads the WAC in rebound margin at +7.4. The Wolverines rank second in the WAC in defensive rebounds per game (26.44), offensive rebounds per game (11.89) and rebounds per game (38.33). Utah Valley shoots at a clip of 46.0% which rates third in the WAC, while their 4.9 blocks per game rank second. The Wolverines hold top 60 marks at the stripe with the squad's 24.7 free throw attempts ranking 38th in DI and its 16.8 makes per game ranking 57th. 

Trevan Leonhardt has produced WAC-leading 20 steals at 2.22 per game both of which rank inside the top 50 nationally. He orchestrates the offense on the other end with 42 assists at 4.7 per game with each mark ranking second in the WAC. His 2.33 assists-to-turnover ratio ranks second in the WAC. 

A trio of Wolverines have registered eight or more blocks led by Carter Welling's dozen. Ethan Potter leads UVU with a 60.8% shooting clip, while Dominick Nelson owns a team-high 91 attempts at 42.9%. Nelson leads the team in scoring with 13.3 ppg, Welling follows with 12.3 and Tanner Toolson adds 10.8. Toolson is the lone Wolverine with 10+ three-point makes as his 15 have come at 28.8%. 

In the first meeting, Potter went for 20 points and three other Wolverines followed in double figures. Potter and Welling each grabbed eight rebounds. UND held UVU to a 22.2% success rate from three-point range.

UND BY THE NUMBERS
98- The number of points needed by junior guard Treysen Eaglestaff to reach 1,000 for his career. The Bismarck native would be the 39th player in program history to reach the mark and the 12th player in the program's DI era to accomplish the scoring feat.
21- UND's national rank in offensive rebounds/game. The squad's mark of 14.33 leads the Summit League. UND has grabbed a dozen or more offensive rebounds in eight of nine games this season. The most games with 12+ OREB under Sather is 17 last season.
8- The current career rank of junior guard Treysen Eaglestaff's 157 made trifectas. He is second in made three-point attempts among Hawks who played their entire career at the DI level. He is 28 away from fifth all-time.
5- The number of career-high totals produced by sophomore and first-year Hawk George Natsvishvili in Saturday's win against Weber State. The native Georgian delivered a double-double of 12 points and ten rebounds. He made six shots in 24 minutes of work.
3- The number of points needed by senior forward Amar Kuljuhovic to reach 1,000 for his collegiate career. The Waterloo, Iowa native scored 624 points in two seasons at Lake Land College and enters Wednesday's action with 373 as a Fighting Hawk.

A UND WIN WOULD
» Push the Hawks back to .500 overall at 5-5
» Give the Hawks their third-straight season of winning five of their first ten games
» Improve UND to 3-0 this season against teams from Utah
» Be the 21st road win for the Hawks under Sather
» Be better than a loss