North Dakota at UTSA || 12/13 (7 p.m.)
1st meeting all-time, 1st of 2 this weekend
San Antonio, Texas (Convocation Center)

FULL GAME NOTES ARE HERE

GRAND FORKS, N.D. - North Dakota trips to southwest Texas, specifically San Antonio, for the second time in three seasons to face UTSA for the first time in program history. The two sides attempted to convene in the Lone Star State back on November 9, but travel issues surrounding weather in North Texas prevented the Hawks from ever getting in the air. Action between the Hawks and the Roadrunners tips off at 7 p.m. from inside the Convocation Center. 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 streamed on ESPN+. Live stats will be provided at www.FightingHawks.com.

SERIES HISTORY
Friday night's match up will be the first-ever between the two programs and the first of two meetings this season with the two squads tipping off around 41 hours later in Grand Forks. UND matches up with an opponent from the American Athletic Conference for the first time since taking on Florida Atlantic (L, 79-98) at the Paradise Classic on November 20, 2021. 

LAST TIME OUT
Utah Valley opened the second half of Wednesday night's second meeting with North Dakota in less than a month on a 20-0 run and the effort was more than enough to pull past the Fighting Hawks for an 80-57 win from inside the UCCU Center. 
 
First-half action was blanketed by runs as the Hawks responded to a 4-0 deficit with a 7-0 run which led to an 11-10 lead at the first media stoppage and eventually an 18-10 advantage. Consecutive successful triple tries from senior forward Deng Mayar and junior guard Eli King highlighted the 11-0 run for UND.
 
The Wolverines responded with a 17-1 jaunt to lead by six at 27-19 at the under-8 media timeout. North Dakota shot just 2-of-10 from the floor leading into the stoppage. UVU's lead grew to nine, but a turnaround near the baseline by Mayar, pair of free throws from senior forward Brian Mathews and a pair of baskets from junior guard Treysen Eaglestaff, a step back three and a crowded drive inside, brought the Hawks to within 32-31 in the final 90 seconds before the intermission.
 
It was a flawless first half protecting the basketball for the Hawks as UND did not commit a turnover in the opening twenty minutes. However, the Wolverines outshot the Hawks with two more makes in three less attempts in addition to seven three-point makes but led UND by just four at the break.
 
The second half was a different story as the aforementioned large run to start for the Wolverines swung momentum in favor of the host who forced nine second-half turnovers by the Hawks in addition to shooting 50% from beyond-the-arc as part of a 56% effort from the field in the final twenty minutes.

AGAINST UVU: UND's 65 shots taken on Wednesday night is the third-most in a game this season...The Hawks matched their season-high in three-point makes (9) behind its third-most attempts (29) in a game this season...North Dakota posted season lows in free throws made (4) and attempted (7)...UND's seven assists are the second fewest in a game this season and the Hawks finished -15 in the category on Wednesday night...The Hawks committed ten turnovers (all in the second half) and have committed ten or less in each of their past three games...UND finished +5 in offensive rebounding, but lost the paint battle 30-20...Eaglestaff's game-high 20 points on a career-high 22 attempts marked the 12th time he has reached that scoring mark in a game...Eaglestaff made five three-point attempts for the first time this season and for the eighth time in his career...Senior forward Amar Kuljuhovic followed with 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting and matched Eaglestaff in rebounding with five...Kuljuhovic finished in double-figure scoring for the 22nd time in his UND career and crossed over the 1,000-point scoring mark for his collegiate career...Mathews led UND with six rebounds and the Hawks finished -2 on the glass...King followed with eight points, four rebounds, three steals and two assists...Mayar added season-highs in points (7) and rebounds (5)...

1KULJUHOVIC
Senior forward Amar Kuljuhovic reached a personal milestone in Wednesday's loss at Utah Valley. The Waterloo, Iowa product crossed over 1,000 career points in his collegiate career with a 13-point night against the Wolverines. He recorded 624 points in two seasons at Lake Land College and currently has 386 points in 41 games as a Fighting Hawk. 

The scoring milestone isn't the only one in reach for Kuljuhovic as he is 156 rebounds shy of 1,000 for his career. He registered over 500 at LLC and currently has 333 as a Fighting Hawk with 108 coming on the offensive end of the floor. 

DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS
Game #11 in year #6 of the Paul Sather Era of UND men's basketball sends the Hawks south into Texas. The Hawks are no stranger to tipping off in Texas. Since its first year as a Division I Independent in 2008-09, the Fighting Hawks have played a team from Texas 21 times with 11 of those match ups standing as true road contests. 

UND is 4-7 on the road against teams from Texas entering Friday night's tilt. UTSA will become the sixth different team from the state that the Fighting Hawks have played against as a Division I member. North Dakota first met a Division I program from Texas in that first season of 2008-09 when it played Texas A&M in College Station on January 5. Due to its Great West Conference membership, the Hawks matched up against Houston Baptist and Texas-Rio Grande Valley twice a year from 2009-10 to 2011-12 in addition to playing both teams in the 2011 GWC Tournament. UND played Texas-Arlington in Iowa during the 2009-10 season and opened the 2022-23 campaign in San Antonio against Incarnate Word. 

LONE STAR STATE RETURN
Friday's action sees a trio of Hawks make their return to the Lone Star State including one who will enjoy a homecoming. Junior Dariyus Woodson, a Baytown, Texas native and Goose Creek Memorial HS graduate, calls the state home. Following his prep career with the Patriots, Woodson played collegiately at Tyler Junior College in east Texas for two seasons serving as one of the Apaches' top shooting threats. 

Senior Deng Mayar is no stranger to the state having played at Howard College in Big Spring, Texas during the 2022-23 campaign where he started all 30 games for the Hawks and shot over 52% from the floor. Prior to his time at Howard, Mayar played 22 games making 19 starts as a freshman at Western Texas College in Snyder, Texas. Deng enjoyed a true homecoming in the Hawks' last outing as the Utah native delivered seven points and five rebounds in 22 minutes against Utah Valley in Orem which is just a 40 minute drive north to his hometown of Salt Lake City. 

In addition to Woodson's homecoming and Mayar's reintroduction to the state, assistant coach Estevan Sandoval, who is in his fourth season with the Hawks and second as an assistant, returns to Texas after a one-season stint at Western Texas College. Sandoval aided Mayar and the Westerners in winning the 2021 NJCAA Region V Championship.

ROAD HAWKS
Friday's matchup at UTSA is the eighth outside the state of North Dakota for the Hawks in 11 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 miles during its non-conference slate.

BUSY STRETCH
The Hawks are in the midst of a busy ten-day stretch prior to the Christmas holiday. North Dakota started with UVU in Orem (L, 57-80) and caps the stretch on Friday, December 20 against South Dakota Mines in Grand Forks. 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. 

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 seven of the squad's ten games and the Hawks have been outrebounded on the offensive glass just once. 

UND has grabbed 12 or more offensive rebounds in every game but its season opener at Colorado State. Five Hawks have recorded 14+ offensive rebounds this season led by Amar Kuljuhovic's 25. Brian Mathews follows with 17 and Mier Panoam and Eli King have each picked up 15. George Natsvishvili has registered 14 with seven coming in a career effort against Weber State.

North Dakota ranks 25th nationally in offensive rebounds per game at 14.10; a mark that leads the Summit League. The squad's overall rebounding average of 38.60 ranks second in the league and is in the top 90 nationally. Overall, the Hawks have outrebounded 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 18.5 points per game which rates inside the top 55 nationally and leads the Summit League. His 185 total points are the fourth most in the league and his scoring effort comes behind a top six field goal percentage among Summit shooters at 42.5%.

Eaglestaff has scored in double-figures in all ten games this season crossing over the 20-point mark in half of those including in Wednesday's loss at Utah Valley. He finished his sophomore campaign reaching the double-figure scoring mark in the final six games for an active streak of 16 games with 10+ points. 

For his career, Eaglestaff has 46 games in double-figure scoring with 12 games at 20+ points. He facilitates too leading UND with 20 assists. Thirty-four times in his UND career, Eaglestaff has made no fewer than three three-point shots. He's bottomed three shots from range six times this season and in Wednesday's action he netted five for the eighth time in his career. His 25 total three-point makes rank fourth in the Summit League and his 2.50 per game rate third.

The Bismarck native is eyeing a move up the program record books as he is currently eighth in career three-pointers with 162; 19 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 seven 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 78 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 ten games with at least 19 points in three of his last five 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 12.2 points per game, in shots made with 42, and in steals with eight. He leads the team in blocked shots with five and ranks third in rebounding with 50. He ranks third 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 ten games this season.

In the loss to UVU, King scored eight points with four rebounds, three steals and two assists in 30 minutes of work.

In the win over Weber State, 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 290 minutes, the second-most among Hawks, King is third on the team in offensive rebounds with 15, which included six against Notre Dame, and owns the second-highest rebounding average at 5.1. He has six games this season with 5+ rebounds. He holds a team-high mark in steals (13) and paces UND in offensive fouls drawn this season with nine.

SCOUTING THE ROADRUNNERS
UTSA enters Friday's action at 3-5 overall with a 2-1 record on their home floor. The Roadrunners are coming off losses at (RV) Saint Mary's (82-74) and (RV) Arkansas (75-60). The squad's victories have come against Trinity Christian, Merrimack and Houston Christian. 

The Roadrunners are led by first-year UTSA head coach Austin Clauch who came to San Antonio after five seasons at the front of the bench for Nicholls State. A native of Texas, Claunch won 90 games in five seasons directing the Colonels.  

The Roadrunners were picked tied for 11th in the preseason American Athletic Conference poll after receiving 35 points to match Tulane in the 13-team league. 

UTSA's 16-player roster includes 14 transfers of which 11 are from previous Division I programs. 

The Roadrunners are highly active defensively and excel in transition. UTSA ranks 11th in the country in steals per game (10.3) and 33rd in turnovers forced per game (15.88), both of which have played a large part in the squad holding the eighth-highest fastbreak points per game at 18.25. Texas-San Antonio shoots 39.9% from the floor and 31.7% from beyond-the-arc and has proven in the early going to be solid from the stripe holding the nation's second-highest free throw clip at 82.7%. 

Like the Hawks, the Roadrunners can clean the offensive glass effectively. UTSA ranks 45th in DI in offensive rebounds per game at 13.50. Additionally, the Roadrunners shoot the three over 27 times per game which rates inside the top 65 nationally. 

The Roadrunners are led by one of the nation's premier scorers in Primo Spears who's 23.1 points per game leads the American Athletic and ranks fourth in Division I. His production comes at a top 10 minutes per game mark in the country at 36:39 which leads the AAC. Spears' 151 field goal attempts is a top 30 mark in the country.

Damari Monsanto leads the the AAC in three-pointers per game at 2.86 which comes at a clip of 34.5%. Spears and Marcus Millender each average two three-point makes per game. 

Jonnivius Smith leads the board-grabbing effort for the Roadrunners as he holds a top 40 DI mark in rebounding average at 8.9. His average in defensive rebounds (6.43) ranks inside the top 50 nationally as does Raekwon Horton's offensive rebounds average (3.14). Additionally, he holds a top 30 mark in blocks per game at 2.00. 

Four players are averaging 1.5 or more steals per game with Horton's 2.00 ranking inside the top 80 nationally and his total of 14 leading the team. 

UND BY THE NUMBERS
78- 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.
25- UND's national rank in offensive rebounds/game. The squad's mark of 14.10 leads the Summit League. UND has grabbed a dozen or more offensive rebounds in nine of ten 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 162 made trifectas. He is second in made three-point attempts among Hawks who played their entire career at the DI level. He is 23 away from fifth all-time.
6- The number of different Texas programs faced by the Fighting Hawks, including Friday's first-ever meeting with UTSA, since first competing as a Division I Independent in 2008-09.
3- The number of Hawks with ties to Texas. Senior Deng Mayar (Howard College), junior Dariyus Woodson (Tyler JC, Baytown native) and assistant coach Estevan Sandoval (Western Texas AC) are no stranger to the Lone Star State.

A UND WIN WOULD
» Improve UND to 2-0 against teams from the state of Texas under Sather (2022-23 at Incarnate Word; W, 65-57)
» Improve UND to 12-10 against Texas teams since 2008-09
» Be the 21st road win for the Hawks under Sather
» Be better than a loss