by By Josh McSwain
GRAND FORKS, N.D. – The North Dakota men’s basketball team picked up its second straight win Thursday night, defeating the Valley City State Vikings 93-63.
Treysen Eaglestaff and B.J. Omot led the Fighting Hawks with 17 points, and were joined in double figures by Eli King (14), Mambourou Mara (12) and Tsotne Tsartsidze (11). King tied with Deng Mayar for the team lead with eight rebounds, while Eaglestaff led with four assists.
With 16:27 left in the first half, Omot hit a corner three with the game tied at five to put NoDak ahead, and from there the Fighting Hawks would not trail again. VCSU got within one point at 11-10 later in the first half, but from there UND went on a 12-4 run to expand their lead to 23-14; with six different players scoring a basket in the stretch. Over the final 7:15 of the first half, the green and white went on a 19-4 run, with Mara with scoring seven points, to go to halftime with a 44-23 advantage.
Hot shooting from the first half carried over into the second half, with the hosts hitting nine three pointers in the half and expanding their lead to as many as 36 points. The Fighting Hawks led by no less than 18 points at any point in the second half as they closed out a convincing win at home.
