SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – With the score tied at 66-66, George Natsvlishvili's go-ahead free throw with .1 seconds left, pushed the No. 3 North Dakota men's basketball team into the Summit League Tournament Championship, defeating No. 2 St. Thomas, 67-66 in the semifinals on Saturday night from the Denny Sanford Premier Center. UND improves to 18-16 on the season, while the Tommies fall to 24-9.

The Tommies had the basketball with 22 seconds left in a tied ball game, when Eli King intercepted Austin Herro's pass with five seconds left. King dribbled the ball up the court and found a soaring Natsvlishvili, who was fouled by Carter Bjerke in the acting of shooting with .1 seconds remaining.

After missing a pair of free throws with 1:39 left in the game, the Tbilisi, Georgia native redeemed himself, connecting on the first free throw, to put the Hawks up 67-66. With .1 seconds left, there was nothing the Tommies could do, sending North Dakota to the Summit League championship for the second time in program history and first time since 2020.

The Hawks were once again led by Greyson Uelmen, who is quickly emerging into a march legend. The redshirt freshman posted 28 points on 9-for-11 shooting and 9-for-12 from deep. He has now logged 69 points in the two tournament games, shooting 22-of-30 from the floor.

Eli King also held up his end of the bargain, pouring in 17 points on 5-of-10 shooting and 3-for-6 from deep, while grabbing four rebounds and dishing out two assists. The four rebounds got him to the 500 career rebounds milestone.

Despite being outrebounded 39-25 (14-1 on the offensive glass) and getting up 16 less shot attempts, the Hawks held St. Thomas to 4-of-24 shooting from three-point range and 25-for-60 from the floor. NoDak trailed by as many as eight in the contest and led by as many as three.

First Half
The first half featured five ties and five lead changes, with UND trailing by as many as eight. St. Thomas grabbed 12 offensive rebounds compared to zero from the Fighting Hawks, but UND trailed by just six at the break. Garrett Anderson led the way with 10 first half points, while scoring 11 overall.

Second Half
We are going to go right to the 14:39 mark, when Uelmen scored a driving layup to cut the Tommies lead to 42-40. Reggie Thomas then secured a steal on the next Tommies possession. Natsvlishvili had a floater rim out with a chance to tie the game, when coach Paul Sather picked up a technical foul following the miss. Isaiah Johnson-Arigu hit both technical free throws, which was then followed by a Nick Janowski three-pointer, giving the Tommies a five-point possession and 47-40 lead.

UND stayed within striking distance of the Tommies, finding themselves down 54-48 with 8:38 to play. The switch flipped at that moment, as the Hawks went on an 8-0 run, started by back-to-back three pointers from Uelmen and King and concluded by two Uelmen free throws, giving UND a 56-54 advantage at the 5:19 mark. It was UND's first lead since owning an 18-17 advantage with 9:36 to play in the first half.

From that point, it was a one-possession game the rest of the way. With the score tied at 60-60, Thomas delivered a clutch three-pointer from straight away to beat the shot clock, giving the Hawks a 63-60 lead with 2:38 to play.

Following four-straight points from Nolan Minessale, St. Thomas took the lead, going up 64-63 with 1:51 to play. On the next UND possession, Uelmen was fouled going to the rim. The guard hit the first free throw and missed the second, but Natsvlishvili was there for the Hawks lone offensive rebound of the night, where he was fouled. He would miss both free throws, keeping the game at 64-64 with 1:39 to play.

North Dakota forced a stop on the next St. Thomas possession, with King grabbing the rebound. UND hopped back in front, following a tough layup in the paint from Uelmen, giving UND a 66-64 lead with 1:11 left.

Minessale scored for the Tommies on the next trip, tying the game at 66-66 with 49 seconds to play. Uelmen then had the ball taken away with 22 seconds left, as St. Thomas called timeout. In a situation for the Tommies to hold for one, Herro drove to the right, circled around and tossed the ball towards the three-point line, right into the hands of Eli King. King then got the ball to Natsvlishvili where he was fouled with .1 seconds left.

UND earned its eighth win by three points or less, taking down No. 2 St. Thomas, 67-66. North Dakota will play tomorrow for a chance to earn a trip to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017 against No. 1 North Dakota State at 8 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.

Postgame Notes

• UND improves to 12-12 all-time against the Tommies and 6-6 in the Summit League Tournament
• It was UND's eighth win by three or less points
• Uelmen poured in his ninth 20-point game this season, now scoring in double figures for 17-straight games
• King recorded his 500th career rebound
• Anderson totaled 11 points, giving UND 10 in the first half
• NoDak shot it at 22-of-44 from the field and 7-for-19 from three while St. Thomas was 25-of-60 from the floor and 4-for-24 from deep
• It is North Dakota's second appearance ever in the Summit League Tournament championship, last getting there in 2020 where they played NDSU
• UND had eight points off turnovers compared to six from UST
• UST won the points in the paint battle, 40-28
• Natsvlishvili grabbed a team-high seven rebounds

How It Happened
First Half
16:00 UST 5, UND 3
10:38 UND 15, UST 15
6:53 UST 21, UND 20
2:57 UST 30, UND 24
Halftime: UST 34, UND 28
 
Second Half
15:53 UST 38, UND 36
11:24 UST 49, UND 44
6:50 UND 54, UST 54
3:27 UND 58, UST 58
Final: UND 67, UST 66

For more information on North Dakota men's basketball, visit FightingHawks.com or follow on social media @UNDmbasketball.
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