by Jacob Pumphrey
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Fifteen first-half turnovers plagued North Dakota men’s basketball on Monday night inside the tightly-constructed confines of Moby Arena in Fort Collins, Colorado, as Colorado State, an at-large participant in two of the last three NCAA Tournaments, turned a 17-point halftime advantage into an 82-56 victory in the season opener for both sides.
The Hawks (0-1) battled the host Rams throughout the game’s first dozen or so minutes as the Mountain West Conference member led by just two possessions at the 7:42 mark of the first half despite ten UND turnovers to that point of the contest. Out of the under-8 media, Colorado State (1-0) crafted an 8-0 run and coupled their offensive successes with a three-plus minute scoring drought from the Hawks which aided CSU’s lead in blooming to 14 at 31-17 at the final media stoppage before the intermission.
The Hawks held their own early using an in-traffic bucket by sophomore guard Mier Panoam and a right wing three from senior forward Amar Kuljuhovic as the contest was even at five through the opening ninety seconds. However, turnovers became the issue, the first stretch of which aided a scoring drought, as CSU used an 8-0 to take a 13-5 lead through the first stoppage.
North Dakota cut down its deficit to 19-15 by virtue of a 10-6 run highlighted by a 45-second sequence from senior big man Brian Mathews who delivered a helper to a moving Eli King who finished off glass a possession prior to Mathews nailing a midrange jumper in the paint on a dime from a driving Panoam.
UND showcased a much improved effort in the second half as the Rams outscored the Hawks by just nine points, while the visitors committed only six turnovers in the final twenty minutes. Colorado State carried its momentum at the break into the second half as the lead grew to 31 with just over eight minutes expired in the frame.
The Hawks worked to get the deficit under 30 as a 14-7 UND run down through the under-8 media timeout was highlighted by a pair of three-point makes from junior guard Treysen Eaglestaff. Those buckets by the North Dakota native sandwiched a 6-2 advantage by the Hawks which included a Panoam pullup, a drive to the basket by junior guard Reggie Thomas and a pair of free throws from senior Deng Mayar. UND attempted 13 shots from the charity stripe in the second half making ten to finish at nearly 77% for the game.
