TULSA, Okla. – North Dakota men’s basketball was unable to finish off Oral Roberts on Saturday night inside the Mabee Center as the Summit League contest, which saw ten tied scores and seven lead changes, went the way of the Golden Eagles as a late three by Issac McBride, just the fourth by the host all night, cushioned ORU’s advantage in the final seconds with the host winning 83-79.
 
Sophomore Mier Panoam scored inside to pull UND to within one at 78-77 and then denied a driving attempt by McBride two possessions later with 58 seconds to play, but the latter would net a cushion triple following an empty opportunity from the Hawks.
 
Three pointers by senior Deng Mayar and a pair from junior Dariyus Woodson aided the Hawks in taking a 53-50 lead as the second half clock neared the 15-minute mark, but the Golden Eagles dominated inside with 50 total paint points and missed just twice inside in the final eight minutes of action after tying the contest at 65.
 
North Dakota led by as much as nine points in the first half which saw the Hawks hit four early three-pointers kickstarted by a far wing trifecta from Amar Kuljuhovic who led UND with a dozen points in the first twenty minutes. After a handful of made three-pointers, the Hawks struggled going 1-for-8 the rest of the way in the first half. ORU controlled the paint with two dozen points which aided the Golden Eagles’ 59.3% shooting clip in 27 attempts from the floor in the first half.
 
The Hawks led for over 18 minutes in the opening half of action, but a scoreless stretch in the half’s final 2:11 and a 9-2 ORU run over the 3:12 sent the host into the intermission with the advantage.
 
North Dakota prepares for a Thursday night matchup in Brookings against South Dakota State, before playing host to Kansas City on Saturday. The Hawks and the Jackrabbits tip off at 7 p.m. on January 16 from inside First Bank & Trust Arena. The action can be seen on Midco Sports and the Summit League 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

• Kuljuhovic led UND with 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting with six rebounds and two assists
• Treysen Eaglestaff followed with 15 points and Panoam added 13
• Eaglestaff led with five assists and Panoam matched Kuljuhovic in boards with six
• UND’s 15 offensive rebounds marks the 18^th straight game with 12+ such boards
• UND’s 14 defensive rebounds are a season low
• The Hawks committed just eight turnovers and have committed less than ten in five of their past six games
• UND finished at +12 in points off of turnovers
• North Dakota was unable to absorb 28 points from McBride and 26 points from JoJo Moore
• ORU shot an opponent-best 60.8% from the floor
• The Eagles produced opponent season lows in three-pointers (4) and steals (3)

 
How It Happened
 
First Half
14:13 – UND 12, ORU 10 (ORU +8 paint, 0-of-4 3PT FG)
11:53 – UND 20, ORU 16 (UND 3-of-7 3PT FG)
7:24 – UND 31, ORU 24 (UND 4-of-last-5 FG, UND +4 TOs)
3:49 – UND 37, ORU 34
HALF – ORU 43, UND 42
 
Second Half
15:42 – UND 51, ORU 50
10:39 – UND 61, ORU 60
6:40 – UND 67, ORU 67
5:28 – UND 71, ORU 69
3:55 – ORU 75, UND 73
FINAL – ORU 83, UND 79
 
For more information on North Dakota men’s basketball, visit FightingHawks.com or follow on social media @UNDmbasketball.

— UND —