North Dakota
Griz look to stop streak at North Dakota – University of Montana Athletics
Saturday, Dec. 6 / 6:00 p.m. (MT) / Watch / Live Stats
PREVIEW
The Montana men’s basketball team will look to stop a four-game slide on Saturday when they head to Grand Forks, N.D. to take on the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks. It’s the final game of the Big Sky-Summit Challenge.
The Grizzlies fell in the opener of the annual conference challenge series at home on Wednesday night to North Dakota State. It’s the first time since 2020 that Montana has lost four consecutive games under head coach Travis DeCuire.
The new-look team brought back just two players that averaged more than 10.0 minutes per game last season and they are still finding the right winning formula. They have shown plenty of reason to get excited about the season with a win at UNLV and a near-win in SEC country against a 7-2 Texas A&M team.
But the recent stretch has proven that Montana still has a ways to go if they want to reach the same heights that the 2024-25 achieved.
As the Grizzlies enter the home stretch of the non-conference season, they will look to start a new streak this Saturday. They follow up the North Dakota game with two straight contests against non-D-I opponents, giving them the opportunity for momentum heading into Big Sky play.
They face a North Dakota team that has lost two straight games by a combined 69 points. The Fighting Hawks are 3-7 on the season with a 1-2 record on their home floor.
Saturday’s game will tip off at 6:00 p.m. MT and will be streamed on Midco Sports Plus.
SHAKING THE STREAK
Montana is looking to snap a four-game losing streak on Saturday. This is just the second time under Coach DeCuire that Montana has lost four straight games. DeCuire has never lost five consecutive games.
The Grizzlies haven’t lost five straight games since the 2007-08 season.
BIG SKY-SUMMIT CHALLENGE
The Grizzlies are 3-2 all-time in the Big Sky-Summit Challenge. Montana is 1-1 in road games in the challenge with a win two years ago at North Dakota State.
After the first day of competition, the Big Sky leads the challenge 12-10. The Big Sky won six games on the men’s side and four games on the women’s side. The Lady Griz were the only Big Sky women’s team to win on Wednesday, while three men’s teams won road contest.
SCOUTING NORTH DAKOTA (3-7)
- The Fighting Hawks are on a two-game losing streak, falling on Wednesday in the first game of the Big Sky-Summit Challenge at Idaho. They lost 90-58 to the Vandals and fell 92-55 in the prior game at Hawaii.
- Last season, North Dakota finished 12-21 overall and 5-11 in Summit League play. They upset South Dakota State in the Summit League Tournament to advance to the semifinals, where they fell against St. Thomas.
- North Dakota is 1-2 at home this season. This is the first home game since Nov. 11, a 128-58 win over Mayville State. They have home losses to UC Riverside and CSUN.
- As a team, UND averages 0.94 years of D-I experience, which ranks 297th in the NCAA, according to KenPom.com.
- Head coach Paul Sather is in his 7th season at North Dakota. He holds a 76-122 record with the Fighting Hawks. In his 21 year head coaching career, he has an overall record of 358-273 (.567).
- UND averages 73.0 points per game while allowing 79.1. The -6.1 scoring margin ranks 307th in the NCAA.
- They excel in forcing turnovers, ranking 25th in the country by forcing 16.4 turnovers per game. UND also only commit 11.5 turnovers per game. They have a 4.9 turnover margin, which ranks 23rd in the NCAA.
- Greyson Uelmen leads the Fighting Hawks with 13.6 points per game. He is the only player on the UND roster to average double figures and ranks 11th in the Summit League in scoring.
- Eli King has been fantastic defensively this year, ranking 7th in the entire NCAA with 26 total steals. King averages 2.6 per game. Garrett Anderson is 2nd in the Summit league with 18 total steals.
- Zach Kraft has made 23 three-pointers this year, which ranks 3rd in the Summit and 88th nationally.
SERIES HISTORY VS. THE FIGHTING HAWKS
Montana leads the all-time series against North Dakota 19-7. The Grizzlies are 5-6 in Grand Forks. They lost the last meeting at North Dakota in 2021 but had won the previous three inside the Betty.
Coach DeCuire is 9-1 against North Dakota in his career and went 8-0 against them while they were a member of the Big Sky Conference.
GRIZ NOTES
- The team leading at halftime has won all nine games that Montana has played in this season. The Griz are 4-0 when leading at the break and 0-5 when trailing.
- The previous six games that Montana has played in have all been decided by single digits.
- Montana has been .500 or better through 10 games every season since 2020-21. The Grizzlies started the COVID season at 4-6 through 10 games.
- The Grizzlies have allowed 80+ points in six of the nine games this season.
- Montana has a better field goal percentage than its opponent in seven of nine games this season.
- The Griz are 3-0 when outrebounding their opponent this season.
- UM has been outscored in six straight halves of basketball. The last half that they won was the second at Texas A&M (50-41).
- Montana has lost three straight home games for the first time ever under DeCuire and the first time overall since 2004.
- Money Williams is averaging 10.0 assists per game over the last two contests and has seven games with at least 5 assists this season.
- Williams has scored at least 15 points in eight straight games. He reached the 20-point mark for the fourth time this season in Wednesday’s loss to NDSU.
- Tyler Isaak set a new career high with 4 steals against North Dakota State.
- Brooklyn Hicks scored in double figures for the 5th time this season on Wednesday.
- Tyler Thompson is 7-of-12 (.583) from three-point range over the last two games. He’s averaging 7.6 points per game and is shooting 40.9 percent from three-point range.
- Courtney Anderson Jr. scored in double figures for the second time this season on Wednesday. He entered the game with just two field goal attempts from inside the arc but had three two-point tries against NDSU.
North Dakota
Person detained during search for missing West Fargo woman is released – KVRR Local News
FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) — A person who was detained during a SWAT raid involving a missing West Fargo woman has since been released.
On Friday evening, Red River Valley SWAT team assisted Fargo Police in serving a search warrant in the 4400 block of Calico Drive South.
Officers were looking for evidence related to 24-year-old Isadora Wengel of West Fargo.
She was last seen early Monday.
Her family says she has a medical condition and needs medication.
Investigators are processing the apartment for evidence and have expanded the investigation to the Fargo landfill.
Police are searching the area where trash from Calico Drive South would be dumped.
They say no one has been arrested, but there is no threat to the public.
Iowa State’s Kevin Dresser discusses dual win over Iowa
VIDEO: Iowa State’s Kevin Dresser discusses dual win over Iowa, the first since 2004
Iowa State wrestling left little to chance on the road against North Dakota State, rolling to a 36-3 win over the Bison on Jan. 11.
The Cyclones won nine of 10 bouts against NDSU, including two by major decision, two by technical fall and a win by fall for MJ Gaitan. Iowa State left the dual with four ranked wins as well.
The highlight bout of the dual was the opener at 125 pounds between Iowa State’s Stevo Poulin and No. 17 Ezekiel Witt. Poulin got a nice 7-1 win by decision over Witt, with a takedown into a two-point turn in the second period helping decide it. At 5-5 entering the dual, it was a good sign for No. 14 Poulin as he looks to get back on track.
Evan Frost earned the second ranked win of the day at 133 vs. No. 30 Tristan Daugherty. He walked away with a 9-0 major decision with two takedowns and a two-minute ride in the second period. Anthony Echemendia followed it up with a 21-6 technical fall vs. Michael Olson at 141.
To close the first half of the dual, Jacob Frost hung on for an 11-5 win by decision over No. 25 Max Petersen. Frost got out to an early lead with two takedowns in the first period, but had to fend off a late surge in the third period with a takedown to put the match away at 11-5.
Vinny Zerban had a nice bounce-back effort at 157, defeating former NCAA All-American Gavin Drexler at 157. After taking a loss earlier in the week vs. Arizona State, Zerban went wire-to-wire vs Drexler in a 12-5 decision and nearly had a major decision had he not conceded a takedown late in the third period.
Iowa State came out of intermission still rolling. Connor Euton earned a 11-2 major decision over Boeden Greenley at 165, followed by a win by fall for Gaitan at 174 over three-time Iowa state champion Max Magayna and a gritty 4-1 sudden victory for Isaac Dean over No. 26 Aidan Brenot at 184.
CJ Carter was unable to help secure a shutout win for ISU with a 10-4 loss by decision to Devin Wasley at 197, but Yonger Bastida ended the dual on a high note with a 19-4 technical fall over Shilo Jones. at heavyweight.
Iowa State moved to 6-1 in duals. Kevin Dresser’s team has the Cyclone Open up next on Jan. 18, but no dual until Jan. 23 vs. Northern Colorado.
Iowa State wrestling vs. North Dakota State results
- 125: Stevo Poulin (ISU) over Ezekiel Witt (NDSU) (Dec 7-1)
- 133: Evan Frost (ISU) over Tristan Daugherty (NDSU) (MD 9-0)
- 141: Anthony Echemendia (ISU) over Michael Olson (NDSU) (TF 21-6 4:11)
- 149: Jacob Frost (ISU) over Max Petersen (NDSU) (Dec 11-5)
- 157: Vinny Zerban (ISU) over Gavin Drexler (NDSU) (Dec 12-5)
- 165: Connor Euton (ISU) over Boeden Greenley (NDSU) (MD 11-2)
- 174: MJ Gaitan (ISU) over Max Magayna (NDSU) (Fall 1:39)
- 184: Isaac Dean (ISU) over Aidan Brenot (NDSU) (SV-1 4-1)
- 197: Devin Wasley (NDSU) over CJ Carter (ISU) (Dec 10-4)
- 285: Yonger Bastida (ISU) over Shilo Jones (NDSU) (TF 19-4 4:53)
Eli McKown covers high school sports and wrestling for the Des Moines Register. Contact him at Emckown@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @EMcKown23.
High School Basketball logo. Courtesy Midwest Communications.
North Dakota High School Boys | Girls Basketball Scoreboard from Jan 10, 2026
BOYS PREP BASKETBALL=
Alexander-Trinity Christian 81, Divide County 58
Beulah 55, Des Lacs-Burlington 26
Harvey-Wells County 61, Nedrose 51
Killdeer 54, Dunseith 52
Linton 75, Sargent County 32
Milbank, S.D. 64, Hillsboro-Central Valley 61
New Salem-Almont 71, Mandaree 32
Our Redeemer’s 89, Kenmare 32
Parshall 71, Trenton 70
Richey-Lambert, Mont. 57, Beach 55
Rothsay, Minn. 71, Richland 38
Shiloh 70, Oak Grove 59
Watford City 77, South Prairie/Max 64
Westby-Grenora 49, Savage, Mont. 40
White Shield 72, Strasburg 55
Dickinson Trinity Shootout=
Central McLean 70, Bowman County 54
Dickinson Trinity 63, Stanley 22
Wilton-Wing 70, South Heart 51
Ramsey County Tournament=
Championship=
North Star 65, Lakota/Adams-Edmore/Dakota Prairie 57
7th Place=
Warwick 72, Benson County 61
5th Place=
Carrington 53, Griggs-Midkota 45
3rd Place=
Devils Lake 73, Larimore 63
Stutsman County Shootout=
Drake-Anamoose 54, South Border 49
Glen Ullin 47, EKM 44
MPB 63, Washburn 59
Midway-Minto 61, Ellendale 53
Napoleon/G-S 53, Kindred 44
Oakes 69, Kidder County 39
GIRLS PREP BASKETBALL=
Ashby, Minn. 65, Tri-State 49
Benson County 47, Hatton-Northwood 38
Dunseith 46, Killdeer 39
Ellendale 54, South Border 36
Flasher 42, New England 16
Garrison 54, Grant County/Mott-Regent 51
Kenmare 55, Our Redeemer’s 43
Kindred 70, Bottineau 21
Lambert, Mont. 52, Beach 50
Maple River 53, LaMoure 52
Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood 57, TGU 54
New Salem-Almont 67, Mandaree 44
North Prairie 67, Westhope 49
Park River 42, Griggs-Midkota 37
Richey-Lambert, Mont. 52, Beach 50
Rothsay, Minn. 65, Richland 32
Sargent County 55, Linton 48
Savage, Mont. 40, Westby-Grenora 33
Shiloh 56, Oak Grove 47
Sisseton, S.D. 66, Oakes 17
Strasburg 39, White Shield 30
Surrey 67, Larimore 38
Trenton 58, Parshall 40
Dickinson Trinity Shootout=
Central McLean 55, Bowman County 41
South Heart 45, Stanley 41
Sanford Pentagon Classic=
West Fargo Horace 70, Tea, S.D. 41
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