#3 Amar Kuljohovic UND Athletics/Kerry Ring
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (UND Athletics) – With .4 seconds left in the first half, Tyree Ihenacho had shot a deep three that went in. After further review, the basket did not count. But at the end of the game, with the score tied at 58, Ihenacho drove the ball down the court, making a game winning play as he found Amar Kuljuhovic, who took the bounce pass and converted on the game winning layup to put North Dakota up 60-58 with 2.6 seconds left. NDSU got one last look but a three was off the mark as the Fighting Hawks won a hard-fought game at the Betty.
Ihenacho led the Fighting Hawks with 15 points, while Kuljuhovic scored 11 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for his second consecutive double-double. Tsotne Tsartsidze also scored in double-figures with ten points.
Tsartsidze and B.J. Omot gave NoDak a quick 6-0 lead with threes to start the game. But NDSU followed with a 13-3 run that gave them a 13-9 lead. Treysen Eaglestaff made a three for the green and white in that stretch, making 20 straight games with a three pointer for the sophomore sharpshooter. He is the first player in the Division I era to make at least one three in 20 consecutive games. The Bison had the upper hand through most of the first half, and each time UND made a run NDSU would respond and keep the home team at bay. The final three points of the first half went to the Fighting Hawks, courtesy of a layup from Ihenacho and a free throw from Kuljuhovic. NoDak got the last shot of the first half, which Ihenacho was unable to get off in time and NDSU led 30-25 going into intermission.
Baskets were hard to come by for either side at the start of the second half, the first coming off a steal by Eaglestaff, who took it in for a breakaway dunk. While NoDak made it a one possession game, once again NDSU had an answer. With 7:55 to go, Andrew Morgan converted a three point play for the Bison to make it a nine point game at 53-44. But this time, UND had an answer with a layup from Tsartsidze, followed by a posterizing dunk from Omot and two foul shots from Eli King to make it a 53-50 affair. With 2:59 to go, Kuljuhovic drew a flagrant foul and brought UND back within one point at 55-54 after converting on two foul shots. Tsartsidze converted a layup on the subsequent possession to put UND up 56-55, the first lead for the home team since the 15:36 mark of the first half at 6-4.
Morgan tied the game at 58 with 1:02 left, and with nine seconds to go had a chance to put NDSU back ahead at the line with a one and one. He missed the first shot and the orange sphere pinballed around before finding the arms of Kuljuhovic. The big man ran down the floor and Ihenacho found him for the game winning basket. The Bison had one last look after advancing the ball into the frontcourt out of the timeout, but a three-point shot from Jacari White would not go as the Fighting Hawks held on.
The Fighting Hawks will be back at the Betty next week for games Thursday against Omaha and Saturday against Kansas City.
Postgame Notes
- Neither team led by double-digits at any point in the game.
- Kuljuhovic is the first Fighting Hawk with six or more double-doubles in a season since Filip Rebraca had 13 in the 2019-20 season.
- Ihenacho and King led NoDak with three assists.
- Only nine threes were made in the game, UND with five and NDSU with four.
- UND won on the glass five fifth straight game, grabbing 39 boards to 32 for the Bison.
- This win snaps a four game NoDak losing streak to NDSU.
How It Happened
First Half
15:52 – UND 6, NDSU 2
11:37 – NDSU 13, UND 9
7:41 – NDSU 18, UND 16
2:44 – NDSU 28, UND 20
Half – NDSU 30, UND 25
Second Half
15:56 – NDSU 37, UND 30
11:43 – NDSU 43, UND 39
7:55 – NDSU 52, UND 44
2:59 – NDSU 55, UND 52
Final – UND 60, NDSU 58
Game Recap: Men’s Basketball | | Josh McSwain, FightingHawks.com
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