The UND men’s basketball team faced off with the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles, defending Summit League champion, last Thursday, January 18th. The Hawks would pick up their first victory over the Eagles since January of 2021.
UND got off to a hot start, jumping out to a 17-6 run with the help of a three-point shot from Tyree Ihenacho (Sr.).
Oral Roberts would struggle for much of the first half, surrendering a 30-14 lead before beginning to claw their way back. After a timeout following back-to-back BJ Omot (So.) dunks, the Eagles were able to cut the Hawks lead to four with five minutes left in the half.
With buckets from beyond the arc from both Ihenacho and Omot, the Hawks were able to build their lead back up to nine by the end of the half, 46-37.
The Eagles would not go away without a fight, starting the second half with multiple three-point baskets. Omot and Ihenacho would keep firm control of the game, however, controlling the tempo for the Hawks.
UND kept ORU at arm’s length for most of the second half, holding a multiple possession lead for significant portions of the game.
With two minutes left, Oral Roberts was able to close bringing the game to 74-71. For the next minute and a half, the Hawks went on an 8-0 run to put the nail in the coffin.
UND defeated Oral Roberts 87-77.
Late in the game, Eagles player Kareem Thompson missed consecutive free-throws, which meant that any Hawk fan received six free wings from Buffalo Wild Wings as a part of the Brickin’ for Chicken promotion.
Head coach Paul Sather did not run as many players as he has for most of the season, with only seven Hawks registering minutes.
UND did not trail for a single second in Thursday’s game. The Hawks played as clean of a game as they have all season, committing only three turnovers all game.
The green and white dominated the interior, scoring 46 of their 87 points in the paint.
The inside game helped mask a poor shooting night for the Hawks, who only shot 30% from beyond the arc.
BJ Omot continued to prove himself as one of the top talents in the Summit League, scoring 25 points on 9-15 shooting.
Tyree Ihenacho was an effective second fiddle to Omot, tallying 22 of his own points, grabbing 11 rebounds, and dishing out a team-high three assists on the game.
Tsotne Tsartsidze (5th) notched a double-double, totaling 14 points and a team-high of 12 rebounds.
Treysen Eaglestaff (So.) and Amar Kuljuhovic (Jr.) both scored in double figures in the starting lineup on Thursday, with Kuljuhovic grabbing nine boards.
UND went on to defeat the Denver Pioneers in another conference bout on Saturday, January 20th with a score of 92-76.
The next time the Hawks suit up in the Betty will be against in-state rival, the NDSU Bison, on February 3rd at 3:30. Tickets are available to UND students for free in their Green and White account.
Garrett Webber is a Dakota Student Section Editor. He can be reached at [email protected].
