Junior guard shatters Summit League Tournament single-game scoring record, becomes third Hawk with 50-point game
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (UND Athletics)– March is magical, memorable and must-see T.V., and North Dakota junior guard Treysen Eaglestaff is made for March. The Bismarck native delivered a performance never before witnessed on the Summit League’s biggest stage, as he dropped a tournament record 51 points and the Fighting Hawks silenced a South Dakota State squad competing in its own backyard by claiming an 85-69 quarterfinal victory and advancing to Saturday’s semifinal round.
Eaglestaff’s historic performance saw him net 15 of his 28 shot attempts, hammer eight of his 18 triple tries and connect on 13 of 17 shots from the stripe in 38 minutes of action.
Through the game’s first ten minutes, the Hawks suffered a pair of scoring droughts that each lasted over 2:30 minutes and saw SDSU engineer an 8-0 run to grab a 16-10 advantage at the second media stoppage of the evening with 11:25 remaining before the break. The Jackrabbits held ten-point leads at the next two media timeouts as the two sides battled, and combined for seven straight makes from the floor, to get to a 34-24 SDSU lead at the 3:57 mark.
The Hawks defended the perimeter extremely well throughout the contest holding the Jackrabbits to just a 10.3% success rate from beyond-the-arc, the lowest by a UND opponent this season, as SDSU made just three of 29 attempts. SDSU didn’t make its first three until its eighth attempt which came at the 10:05 mark of the first half and was courtesy of an offensive rebound off of a missed free throw.
Following the final media stoppage of the first half, Eaglestaff produced a personal 6-0 run as a step back three-pointer pushed him to 20 first half points before he finished the opening twenty minutes with a drive to the basket and a free throw 30 seconds later as the Hawks cut their deficit to five at the intermission.
A couple of early second half turnovers by the Hawks aided a 7-0 SDSU run and a 12-point lead at the 16:25 mark. Re-enter Eaglestaff. A jumper from range cut the SDSU lead to 11 and an up-and-under finish by junior guard Eli King brought the Hawks back to nine points with 13:24 to play. Eaglestaff accounted for the next nine North Dakota points as he willed the Hawks to a possession of the Jackrabbits’ advantage at 52-49 with 10:50 remaining in the game.
Threes by Eaglestaff and King, who’s triple try at the 9:28 mark pulled the Hawks to within a point at 56-55. UND’s next trip down the floor saw Eaglestaff convert all three foul shots to give the Hawks a 58-56 lead. SDSU’s Oscar Cluff tied the game at 58 with a tough basket inside, but King’s second three, on an assist from Eaglestaff, gave North Dakota a 61-58 lead that it would not relinquish.
Down the stretch, it was all North Dakota as the Hawks used momentum-building treys from King and redshirt freshman Zach Kraft on back-to-back possessions to electrify a proud UND faithful amidst a quieting blue-and-gold clad crowd. Kraft added two free throws moments later, Dariyus Woodson followed with a successful drive to the basket and Eaglestaff notched 11 free throws before an attempt from the right elbow tickled twine for half a hundred in the scoring column for the phenomenal shot taker.
Defensively, the Hawks employed an effort that held the Jackrabbits to a 6-for-34 effort from the floor in the second half with only one make from three-point range in 16 attempts. North Dakota took advantage of two SDSU second half scoring droughts that each last longer than 4:45 and continually pressured the Jackrabbits who finished the game 1-for-17 from the floor.
The Hawks meet (2) St. Thomas with a spot in the tournament finals at stake. Tip-off from inside Denny Sanford PREMIER Center is set for 9:15. The action can be seen on CBS Sports Network. Fans can follow the action live with Fighting Hawks men’s basketball radio play-by-play voice Paul Ralston on KSNR 100.3 FM The Cat or on the iHeart Radio app. Live stats for the contest will be available at www.FightingHawks.com.
Postgame Notes
- The Hawks won in the Summit League Tournament for the fourth time and will make the program’s third appearance in the tournament semifinals
- It marks the 13th season in the program’s DI era with no fewer than a dozen wins
- It is the 107th win over SDSU all-time
- The Hawks have won two straight over SDSU for the first time since the year 2000 and in the same season for the first time since 1993
- UND shot 40.6% from three-point range marking the seventh game this season with a 40% or higher success rate from three-point range
- Eaglestaff’s 52 points are a UND DI single game best, the third most in a single game in program history and the fourth 50-point game in program history
- The scoring feat by Eaglestaff is a Summit League Tournament record besting the previous mark of 38 points by Wright State’s Bill Edwards vs. Illinois-Chicago (3-8-1993)
- Eaglestaff matched the tournament record for shot attempts (28), shots made (15) and three-point shots made (8)
- Eaglestaff’s 51 points are the most by college basketball player since Houston Baptist’s Darius Lee went for 52 points in a four overtime effort against McNeese State on March 5, 2022
- Eaglestaff is the only Division I player this season with multiple games of 40 or more points
- His 13 makes and 17 attempts from the stripe are both career highs
- King followed with 13 points which include three big makes from range
- Amar Kuljuhovic grabbed a team-leading nine rebounds and King followed with seven
- Eaglestaff led with four assists and King paced with two blocks
How It Happened
First Half
15:14 – UND 5, SDSU 4 (UND 1-of-last-9 FGs, 2:27 scoring drought)
11:25 – SDSU 16, UND 10 (SDSU 8-0 run over 2:05; UND 2:47 scoring drought)
7:31 – SDSU 25, UND 15 (SDSU 1-of-9 3PT FGs, +7 FTAs)
3:57 – SDSU 34, UND 24 (SDSU 4-of-last-4 FGs; UND 3-of-last-3 FGs)
0:19 – SDSU 38, UND 33 (UND 6-0 run over 1:30, 6-of-last-8 FGs)
HALF – SDSU 38, UND 33
Second Half
16:25 – SDSU 47, UND 35 (SDSU 7-0 run over 2:29; UND 2:47 scoring drought)
11:39 – SDSU 51, UND 45 (SDSU 0-of-last-7 FGs, No FGs last 4:46)
7:22 – UND 61, SDSU 58 (Eaglestaff sets new tournament record 41 PTS; SDSU 1-of-last-12 FGs)
4:04 – UND 69, SDSU 60 (UND 6-0 run over 1:11; SDSU 1-of-last-17 FGs, No FGs last 4:52)
FINAL – UND 85, SDSU 69
Game Recap: Men’s Basketball | | Jacob Pumphrey, FightingHawks.com
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