North Dakota vs. Oral Roberts || 2/15 (1 p.m.)
16th meeting, ORU leads 10-5
Grand Forks, N.D. (Betty Engelstad Sioux Center)

FULL GAME NOTES ARE HERE

GRAND FORKS, N.D. - North Dakota eyes a big bounce back on Saturday inside the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center as Oral Roberts is in town for a 1 p.m. tip off. Live coverage links are available at www.FightingHawks.com. 

TIPPING OFF
The Hawks have lost three straight Summit League games for the first time this season, while the Golden Eagles are looking to end a two-game skid. A win for UND would keep the Hawks out of the league's play-in game with three games left on the regular season docket. 

A fast start is what the Hawks need after sluggish beginnings in their previous two contests. In losses to Kansas City and Denver, UND trailed by 14 and 16, respectively, but battled back to pull within five at KC and one vs. Denver, before ultimately falling in both.

ORU has been powered by Issac McBride, who hit the go-ahead three late in UND's loss in Tulsa on January 11. McBride rates as the second-best scorer in the SL with a ppg average of 19.4 in addition to a league-leading 34:55 minutes per game. His 62 three-pointers are the fourth most in the SL and his 41.9% success rate from deep ranks second. 

UND aims to take care of the basketball having turned it over 11 or more times in each of its last three games which followed a stretch of having committed nine or fewer turnovers in six of its first nine SL games. 

FOLLOW LIVE 
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 can be seen on Midco Sports and the Summit League Network. Live stats will be provided at www.FightingHawks.com.

SERIES HISTORY
Saturday's matchup will be the 16th meeting all-time between the two teams in a series that began in 2018-19 when UND joined the Summit League. ORU leads the series 10-5, but the Hawks won twice last season with the first win snapping a seven-game losing streak. UND lost the first matchup this season in Tulsa, but holds a 3-2 mark against the Golden Eagles in Grand Forks. 

MOST RECENTLY VS. ORAL ROBERTS
North Dakota men's basketball was unable to finish off Oral Roberts inside the Mabee Center as the Summit League contest, which saw ten tied scores and seven lead changes, went the way of the Golden Eagles as a late three by Issac McBride, just the fourth by the host all night, cushioned ORU's advantage in the final seconds with the host winning 83-79.
 
Sophomore Mier Panoam scored inside to pull UND to within one at 78-77 and then denied a driving attempt by McBride two possessions later with 58 seconds to play, before the latters go-ahead three that won it.

PEAK CHASIN'
In early October, North Dakota was tabbed to a sixth-place finish in the Summit League preseason poll. The Hawks were one of six teams to receive a first-place vote and totaled 283 points in a wide open Summit League rankings. North Dakota was just 22 points back of projected No. 5 Oral Roberts which received two first-place nods. St. Thomas edged the Golden Eagles for fourth, while Kansas City (17), South Dakota State (12) and North Dakota State (3) went 1-2-3. The squad's sixth-place appointment, the second highest for UND under Sather, in the preseason rankings is one spot back of last season's fifth-place selection and matches the Hawks' placement prior to the start of the 2020-21 season. The nine-member mid major league produced a collective non-conference record of 69-64. 

LAST TIME OUT
vs. Denver; L, 64-68
North Dakota, willed by a 29-point effort from junior guard Treysen Eaglestaff, nearly came all the way back from a 22-point second half deficit, but the late surge came up short as Denver fended off the Fighting Hawks to earn a 68-64 Summit League victory.

Early turnovers did more than slow the Hawks offensively through the under-16 media, but spawned a near 11-minute scoring drought, specifically one that lasted 10:44, until Panoam managed to get one of six field goals of the first half to fall. UND shot just 24.0% from the floor with its two biggest makes coming from the stroke of Eaglestaff who knocked down a pair of threes.
 
Denver's opening twenty minutes had its moments as the Pioneers built a 35-19 halftime lead, behind a 15-3 run that spanned nearly 10 minutes and coincided with the Hawks' shooting woes. In the first half, Denver played at +12 in paint scoring, +8 in fastbreak points and received nearly half of its offensive production from its bench. Both sides struggled protecting the basketball as a combined 25 turnovers were committed resulting in a collective 16 points.

NEED A FAST START
The Hawks have been outscored by a combined 30 points in the first half of their previous two games and are shooting just 28.8% from the floor, while opponents are shooting 51.9% from the field in the opening twenty. UND sits at -2 in turnover margin in that span. Conversely, the Hawks own a +7.5 scoring margin in the second half of its previous two games and are shooting 51.6%. UND sits in the positive in turnover margin and are +6.5 in rebounding. 

SHARP SHOOTERS
North Dakota's efforts against South Dakota State and Omaha resulted in the squad's top two shooting efforts this season. UND shot 55.2% in a home win against SDSU and most recently fired a clip of 54.2% in a buzzer-beating loss on the road at Omaha. Additionally, the Hawks two best three-point percentage efforts have come in the previous two games. UND hit threes at a 56.3% clip against Omaha and drained 52.6% of their attempts against SDSU.

LONG TIME COMING
North Dakota's five-point win over the Jackrabbits snapped an 18-game losing streak to SDSU. It was the first win against South Dakota State since an 89-70 decision on December 15, 2011 in Grand Forks. It marked the first Summit League win for UND against the Jackrabbits and just the second in its Division I Era (2008-09).

CROWN HIM
Known for his all around ability to fill up any stat column in a box score, junior guard Eli King's scoring prowess was on full display against SDSU. His career-best 24 points, the fourteenth time he has crossed over double-figures in his UND career, came behind career highs in shot attempts (16) and shots made (10). With that effort, King has now led UND at least once in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks in a single game this season.

MIER-IAD OF POINTS
Sophomore Mier Panoam's first season in Grand Forks can be labeled with multiple descriptors. One of which is impactful. The Tulane transfer enters the final stretch of Summit League play with the 12th best scoring average overall (13.4) and the 11th highest scoring average (16.3) against league opponents. Panoam has scored in double figures 20 times this season with six twenty-point games and a career-high 28 in UND's road win at Denver. 

SCORING NUGGETS
While effort on the defensive end of floor has been the focus of late for the Hawks, scoring has not been an issue. Some scoring nuggets to consider as the Hawks roll down the stretch of Summit League play:
*Treysen Eaglestaff is one of just two SL players to score 40 points in a game this season with his career-high 40 coming against Alabama and he is one of just two players with multiple games of 30 or more points (NDSU's J. White).
*Four SL players have made 12 or more shots in a game this season. Two of them reside on UND's roster in Eaglestaff (league-best 15 vs. Alabama) and Mier Panoam (12 vs. Denver).
*Four different Hawks have recorded 20-point games this season (Eaglestaff, Panoam, Woodson, King)

HANDLE WITH CARE
The Hawks did a solid job of protecting the basketball in six of their first nine Summit League games, but have struggled lately in league action. UND ha committed 43 turnovers in its previous three games after averaging only 8.8 in its first nine games. North Dakota committed just six turnovers in the win against SDSU, none of which occurred in the first half. The Hawks are +1.5 in turnover margin in Summit League play which is currently the third-best such mark in the conference and only the fourth above even. UND has turned the basketball over less than nine times in half of its league contests and has committed nine or fewer turnovers in eight of their past 14 games. UND's 1.22 assist-to-turnover ratio in 12 SL contests is the fourth-best clip in the league.

NOW BOARDING
The offensive glass has been controlled by UND in 20 of the squad's 27 games and the Hawks have been out-rebounded on the offensive glass four times. 

UND has grabbed 12+ offensive rebounds in 22 of 27 games. Nine Hawks have recorded 10+ offensive boards this season led by Amar Kuljuhovic's 80. Mier Panoam follows with 59 and Brian Mathews has added 42.

North Dakota ranks 15th nationally in offensive rebounds per game at 13.78; a mark that leads the Summit League. The squad's overall rebounding average of 37.85 ranks second in the league and is in the top 70 nationally. Overall, the Hawks have out-rebounded their opposition 16 times this season. 

THE BIG O
Following his historic effort against #6 Alabama and a home win over South Dakota Mines, junior guard Treysen Eaglestaff was recognized on the national stage as he was one of five players named an Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week for games of the week ending Sunday, Dec. 22. Eaglestaff was joined by Donovan Dent (New Mexico), Caden Pierce (Princeton), Erik Reynolds (Saint Joseph's) and Bruce Thornton (Ohio State). He is the first Hawk to receive the honor since the award's inception in 2009-10.

PO1NTS, PO1NTS, PO1NTS
Eaglestaff's 40 points against Alabama, the 20th such game by a Fighting Hawk all-time, vaulted the junior guard into the 1,000-point club at UND. He became the 39th player in program history to reach the mark and the 12th to do it in UND's Division I era (2008-09). Currently, Eaglestaff is No. 19 on the scoring list with 1,242 points. He is 58 points shy of becoming the 18th player in program history to reach 1,300 and he is just 91 points shy of moving into the program's top 15.

A SCORING STORY
Eaglestaff has developed into one of the league's top scorers as he ranks third among Summit League players with 18.7 points per game, while his 505 total points are a top 12 total nationally and the league lead. He ranks second in the Summit League in field goals (168) and first in field goal attempts (411), which ranks 8th nationally.

TR3Y-POINT LAND
Eaglestaff eyes a move up the program record books as he is currently fourth in career three-pointers with 206 which makes him the program's leader in made three pointers among players that played their entire career in UND's D1 era. The Bismarck native is the fourth player in program history with 200 career made three-pointers. Additionally, Eaglestaff moved into third all-time on the Hawks' D1 three-point attempt list and he is currently fourth on the all-time list. 

This season, he ranks third in the Summit League in made three-pointers (69) and fourth in three-pointers per game (2.56). He leads the league in attempts from range (196). 

KRAFTHREE
Redshirt freshman Zach Kraft has placed himself firmly in UND's rotation after totaling just 48 minutes with two three-point makes in six attempts through the season's first nine games. Since jumping onto the scene with a memorable performance against Alabama (9 pts), Kraft has seen action in each of UND's 15 games and during that time he is shooting 44.2% from deep (23-of-52) and 48.3% overall from the floor, while averaging 12.7 minutes per. 

1KULJUHOVIC
Senior forward Amar Kuljuhovic reached a personal milestone 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 566 points in 58 games as a Fighting Hawk. 

The scoring milestone isn't the only one in reach for Kuljuhovic as he is 35 rebounds shy of 1,000 for his career. He registered 511 at LLC and currently has 454 as a Fighting Hawk with 163 coming on the offensive end of the floor. 

3DARIYUS
First-year Fighting Hawk, Dariyus Woodson, a TJC transfer and Baytown, Texas native, ranks seventh with 138 attempts from three-point range and 16th with 44 makes from three.  

HELPING HANDS
Three Hawks have recorded 57+ assists this season. Mier Panoam leads UND with 63 assists, while Eli King and Treysen Eaglestaff each follow with 57. 

UND BY THE NUMBERS
36- The number of Summit League wins for the Hawks under head coach Paul Sather. The Hawks won a program-best 10 Summit League games a season ago and have won seven or more league games in a season three times under Sather.
18.7- Junior guard Treysen Eaglestaff's scoring average in 27 games. It ranks as the third highest in the SL and is a top 50 mark nationally. His 505 total points this season rank 12th nationally and are the third most in a single season in UND's SL history.
15- UND's national rank in offensive rebounds/game. The squad's mark of 13.78 leads the Summit League. UND has grabbed a dozen or more offensive rebounds in 22 of 27 games this season which is the most by a Sather-led UND team.
4- The number of Hawks that have recorded 200 made three-point shots in a single career after junior guard Treysen Eaglestaff surpassed the mark at Kansas City. He is UND's first exclusively Division I player in program history to do so.
3- The number of double doubles by Mier Panoam in Summit League play this season. Panoam recorded double doubles in both games against Kansas City and against St. Thomas. 

A UND WIN WOULD
» Be the third in four games against Oral Roberts
» Snap a three-game Summit League losing streak
» Keep the Hawks out of the 8-9 spot in the SL standings
» Be the seventh at home for the Hawks in 2024-25
» Be better than a loss