by GRAND FORKS, N.D. – North Dakota men’s basketball closed out the non-conference portion of its campaign in a big way on Sunday afternoon inside the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. The Fighting Hawks led Waldorf by 32 points at the intermission and cruised past the Warriors 97-57 for a second-straight win and the squad’s sixth of the season.
Treysen Eaglestaff led UND in scoring for the 45th time in his career as his 19 points led all players. The scoring effort was highlighted by a career-best dozen from redshirt freshman Zach Kraft. UND finished the contest with season-high marks in points (97), field goals made (35), rebounds (50), assists (18) and steals (14).
The Hawks led for over 35 minutes in the contest as Waldorf opened the action on a 6-0 run before UND answered with 44-12 difference, which included a 20-0 run, its largest in any game this season, over the remainder of the opening half to lead 50-18 at the break. North Dakota’s largest lead of the game came with just under five minutes to play as the Hawks’ advantage sat at 47 points.
UND finished at +11 in points off of turnovers, +14 in rebounding, +9 in second chance points and +14 in points in the paint. The Hawks enjoyed multiple possessions with transition opportunities to finish at +38 in fast break points. UND received 49 points from its bench.
North Dakota prepares for a highly anticipated Summit League slate which commences on Thursday night, January 2 throughout the conference’s footprint. The Hawks play host to Omaha in the first of 16 league contests. It will be the 105th hardwood meeting in a series that began just prior to Christmas in 1934. UND leads the series 58-46 and holds a 35-10 advantage over the Mavericks in Grand Forks. The Hawks are 4-7 against UNO under Sather and the two sides have split the last four meetings with the most recent action ending with UNO edging UND with a last-second shot in a 73-72 win in the Summit League quarterfinals.
