by Josh McSwain
GRAND FORKS, N.D. – For the first time since the 1994-95 season, the North Dakota men’s basketball team has won seven straight games in conference play. Not only did tonight’s win over Omaha give the green and white its first seven game conference winning streak of the Division I era, but its first seven game winning streak as a DI team overall as the last seven game winning streak came in the 2007-08 season—the final season playing in Division II.
For the first time since 2020, three Fighting Hawks scored 20+ points. Treysen Eaglestaff led the team with 28, followed by B.J. Omot with 26 and Tyree Ihenacho with 22. Amar Kuljuhovic grabbed 13 rebounds to lead the way on the glass, the fourth time in the last five games that he has posted 10+ rebounds. Ihenacho led with four assists while Eaglestaff led with three steals.
Early in the first half the score was tied at 4-4, but Ihenacho made the next basket that started a 9-0 run for NoDak and the Fighting Hawks never looked back. Ihenacho scored ten of the first 16 points for UND and ten of the first 22 overall, and from there the hosts never let Omaha get back into the game and took a 20-point lead into intermission at 51-31.
In the second half the lead for UND went up to as many as 30 as the game never reached single digits. Eaglestaff got a fitting curtain call as he hit a three pointer to close out his night before making way for the substitutes, who saw out the 21 point win.
