GRAND FORKS, N.D. – Sophomore guard Mier Panoam produced a career-high 24 points on a career-best eight made shots, but Omaha never trailed on Thursday evening inside the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center as the Mavericks used hot shooting in the opening half and a 50% effort from three-point range for the game to handle North Dakota 95-85 in the Summit League opener for both teams.
 
Omaha (7-9, 1-0 SL) opened the contest on a 7-0 run as the Hawks committed a trio of turnovers to find themselves in an early hole, but UND rallied and made their next five shots to close the deficit to 12-11 at the under-16 media stoppage with 14:09 remaining before the intermission. The Mavericks' lead was just four points at the under-12 timeout, but by the under-8 timeout, the advantage had grown to a dozen as UNO led 30-18.
 
The final media break of the half saw the Mavericks leading 38-28 behind a 70% shooting clip from the floor, while the Hawks had managed to hit just two of its 13 attempts from range. Following the final four minutes, UNO carried a 45-34 lead into the break shooting 30% better than the Hawks in the opening twenty minutes.
 
The Hawks responded in the second half using a 6-0 run in less than 90 seconds to pull within five, 49-44, at the 16:11 mark. That effort was spurred by Panoam who scored eight points; all of which came off of tough, contact-laden drives to the basket. UND finished the final twenty minutes with a 51.6% effort from the floor.
 
Two free throws from junior guard Treysen Eaglestaff pulled UND to within a possession at 49-46 with 15:43 remaining, but that is as close as the Hawks would get to the UNO lead. The Mavericks netted several responsive attempts from three in the final 15+ minutes of play in addition to shooting 8-of-12 from the stripe in the final 2:30 of play to fend off any potential UND rally.
 
North Dakota returns to action on Saturday for an early afternoon start against St. Thomas as Summit League play rolls on. The Hawks welcome in the Tommies for the 19^th meeting all-time in a series that began in January 1923. The two sides split last season's regular season series with each road team claiming a victory. UND leads the series 10-8, while it's deadlocked at 3-3 since the two became league foes beginning with the 2021-22 season which marked the first matchup since 1962. The Hawks are 6-3 against the UST in Grand Forks.
 
Action tips off at 1 p.m. from inside the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center and can be seen on Midco Sports and the Summit League Network. 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. Live stats for the contest will be available at www.FightingHawks.com.
 
Postgame Notes

• North Dakota set a season high in free throws made with 22 and matched its season-high output with 30 attempts
• It marked the third game this season with 20 or more shots made from the stripe
• Eaglestaff and Panoam each made eight free throws: the most by any Hawk in a game this season
• Panoam delivered a career-high 24 points on a career-best eight made shots
• UND's 14 offensive rebounds marks the 15^th straight game with 12+ such boards and the Hawks have now outrebounded an opponent ten times this season
• UND's 15 assists are the second-most in a game this season
• Panoam added seven rebounds and five assists
• Senior forward Amar Kuljuhovic scored a dozen points and finished with eight rebounds, one assist and a steal
• Junior forward Dariyus Woodson scored ten points to round out the four double-figure scorers from the Hawks
• Junior guard Eli King added seven rebounds, four assists and a steal
• Eaglestaff's 15 points improves his active double-figure scoring streak to 22 games 
• With his single made three-pointer, Eaglestaff now has the most made trifectas among Hawks that played their entire career at the DI level
• Kraft produced his fourth game with three or more made three-pointers as he finished with nine points on 3-of-4 shooting from range
• North Dakota was unable to absorb a 27-point night from Marquel Sutton and a 20-point night from Tony Osburn
• The loss slides UND's record in Summit League openers to 3-5
• UND's record against Summit League foes under Sather moves to 33-52

 
How It Happened
 
First Half
14:09 – UNO 12, UND 11 (UND 5-of-last-5 FGs; UNO 7-0 start, 3 UND TOs)
10:25 – UNO 20, UND 16 (UNO 6-of-last-8 FGs, UNO +6 paint)
7:30 – UNO 30, UND 18 (UNO 5-of-last-6 FGs; UND 1-of-last-8 FGs, no FGs last 3:20)
3:55 – UNO 38, UND 28 (UNO 70% FG; UND 2-of-13 3PT)
HALF – UNO 45, UND 34
 
Second Half
16:11 – UNO 49, UND 44 (UND 6-0 run over 1:23)
11:18 – UNO 61, UND 53 (UND 5-of-last 7 FGs)
6:47 – UNO 77, UND 64
4:16 – UNO 82, UND 69 (UND no FGs last 3:11)
FINAL – UNO 95, UND 85
 
For more information on North Dakota men's basketball, visit FightingHawks.com or follow on social media @UNDmbasketball.