by Tyler Wells
GRAND FORKS, N.D. – North Dakota fell 62-60 to South Dakota inside the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center on Thursday evening. The game was knotted up at 60-60 with 20.5 seconds but a Kruz Perrott-Hunt jumper in the paint with 1.4 seconds left was the difference.
Perrott-Hunt and Paul Bruns paced the Coyotes (8-8, 3-1 SL) with 15 points apiece. On the game-winner, Perrott-Hunt was well guarded by Brady Danielson, who forced him to take a fadeaway shot that rattled home. North Dakota had 1.4 seconds to create a shot and had an open look when Danielson lobbed the ball and it found Treysen Eaglestaff at the three-point line. Eaglestaff got the would-be game-winner off in time, but it fell short and allowed South Dakota to escape with the 62-60 win.
Eaglestaff was the top Hawk (6-10, 0-3 SL), pouring in a season-high 18 points. He also hauled in five rebounds, which was good for a season best. Eaglestaff finished with a pair of steals defensively in his 28 minutes of play.
Fellow freshman B.J. Omot was next in scoring for UND, throwing down 15 points in 27 minutes of play. Twelve of his 15 points came in the second half alone.
Jalun Trent was the final NoDak player to net double figures, adding 10 points and grabbing five boards. In his performance, Trent had a season-best four makes at the charity stripe.
In the game, North Dakota shot 36.8 percent, knocked down six triples and went 12-for-19 at the line. South Dakota finished hitting at 41.8 percent, added seven makes from deep and was 9-for-11 at the stripe.
The Coyotes won the battle down low with a 42-32 rebounding advantage and a 28-26 edge in points in the paint. The Fighting Hawks played their cleanest game of the season with only five turnovers. Meanwhile, UND turned over USD 13 times.
South Dakota held a 30-26 edge on the scoreboard at intermission. The North Dakota freshmen shined in the opening half, with Eaglestaff pouring in a team-high 13 points. He was responsible for the first four points of the game and the Hawks went up 6-0 early after Omot rejected a Coyote shot.
USD weathered the early run and was up 20-10 midway through the first quarter. UND responded moments later with a 9-2 run over the next six minutes to trim the deficit to 25-22. The North Dakota run was powered by six points from Eaglestaff and a triple from Omot. By halftime, the Hawks only trailed by four points.
At intermission, Eaglestaff was the leading scorer with his 13 points and two steals. Perrott-Hunt and Bruns were the top Coyotes with nine points apiece. In the opening 20 minutes, USD made 36.7 percent of its shots and UND hit at 32.3 percent. South Dakota held a 24-17 rebounding advantage and both teams had 10 points down low.
In the second half, the Coyotes built their lead to 50-40 with 9:20 left after holding the Hawks scoreless for over two minutes. USD had its largest lead of the game at 55-42 with 5:50 to go in the contest. After that point, North Dakota locked down defensively and used an 8-0 run to trim the deficit to 55-50 with only 3:30 remaining.
Despite trailing 60-55 moments later, a Trent layup plus the and-one free throw made it 60-58 with 1:30 to go. A stop on the following possession, followed by an Omot turnaround jumper knotted the game up at 60-60 with 20.5 seconds left set up the dramatic finish
