SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – A strong second half from second seeded St. Thomas carried the Tommies past the upset minded Fighting Hawks as a hot start from North Dakota was not enough on Saturday night in the Summit League Tournament semifinals from inside Denny Sanford PREMIER Center. The 85-69 loss ends UND's season at 12-21 overall.
 
The Hawks utilized a fast start from the opening tip to run out to a 12-5 lead at the 14:46 mark courtesy of a 10-0 run over three plus minutes of action. While it happened early on the offensive end, North Dakota was locked in defensively holding UST to just seven points and a stretch of 1-of-14 shooting within the first nine minutes of play.
 
Despite a scoreless first half from junior guard Treysen Eaglestaff, the Hawks turned to several other capable bucket getters as six different Hawks scored to help UND build a 25-14 lead with 6:05 remaining before the intermission. Threes from Mambourou Mara, Zach Kraft and Amar Kuljuhovic highlighted the stretch for UND. UST closed the half on a 19-8 run to match the Hawks at 33 entering the break.
 
Out of the half, Eaglestaff scored on back-to-back possessions as the Hawks surged momentarily to cut into the UST advantage as the Hawks trailed by just five. Just prior to the under-8 media timeout, North Dakota went on the attack offensively as three different players maneuvered inside for tough finishes near the rim. The effort was jumpstarted by Panoam, was replicated by King and Mara who both finished second chance opportunities and then was capped as the former was tagged on a shot attempt that he got to fall before finishing at the stripe for the and-one. That effort brought UND to within ten, but that is as close as the Hawks would get for the remainder of the game.
 
Postgame Notes

• King and Panoam each scored 15 points and grabbed eight boards, while Kuljuhovic added 13 points and six rebounds
• Mara followed with seven rebounds
• Eaglestaff scored six points and delivered five assists
• UND committed a season-high two dozen turnovers and finished -30 in points off of turnovers
• UST finished 12-of-29 from three-point range
• The Tommies forced 17 steals; the most by a UND opponent this seaso

 
How it Happened
First Half
14:46 – UND 12, UST 5 (UND 10-0 run over 3:10, 5-of-last-7 FGs; UST 3:53 scoring drought, 0-of-last-5 FGs)
11:06 – UND 12, UST 7 (UST 1-of-last-14 FGs; UND 5:06 scoring drought)
6:40 – UND 23, UST 14 (UND 8-0 run over 1:49; UST 3:06 scoring drought)
2:49 – UND 29, UST 25 (UST 11-6 run, UST with 6 TOs, avg.: 9.2)
HALF – UND 33, UST 33
 
Second Half
15:16 – UST 48, UND 41 (UST 5-of-last-6 FGs)
11:18 – UST 60, UND 47 (UST 6-0 run over 1:36)
7:56 – UST 69, UND 56 (UND 3-of-last-3 FGs; UST 5-of-last-7 FGs)
3:58 – UST 77, UND 59 (UND 2:04 scoring drought; UST 2:19 scoring drought)
FINAL – UST 85, UND 69
                                                                                                                          
For more information on North Dakota men's basketball, visit FightingHawks.com or follow on social media @UNDmbasketball.