UND turnovers lead to early hole in 82-56 loss at Colorado State in season opener

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — The UND men’s basketball season started off on the wrong foot late Monday night in Colorado.

The Fighting Hawks turned the ball over 15 times in the first half, fell behind by 17 at halftime and were routed 82-56 by Colorado State.

Treysen Eaglestaff hit on a drive with 7 minutes, 42 seconds left in the first half to cut the Rams’ lead to 23-17. The Fighting Hawks then didn’t hit another shot from the field the rest of the first half.

The Rams pulled away in the second half, ballooning the lead to 30 points by the middle of the second half.

The Fighting Hawks never led in the game and trailed by as many as 34.

UND ended with 21 turnovers, including five from transfer guard Reggie Thomas.

Eli King chipped in five points but played just 18 minutes and fouled out.

Eaglestaff led UND with 12 points on 5-for-9 shooting. Mier Panoam had 10 points, while Amar Kuljuhovic had nine points and Dariyus Woodson had seven.

UND was 5-for-16 from 3-point range.

Colorado State was led by Nique Clifford with 20 points on 9-for-12 shooting. He also had 14 rebounds.

The Rams struggled from the free-throw line at 8-for-19 but dominated points in the paint 52-18.

UND’s frontcourt struggled as Mambouro Mara ended with no points on three shots and a minus-22 plus-minus in 21 minutes. Deng Mayar was 1-for-5 with five points and minus-16 in 15 minutes of play.

Grand Forks Red River’s Zach Kraft, a redshirt freshman guard, played his first minutes for UND but didn’t put up a shot in six minutes of action.

Colorado State, led by coach Niko Medved, was 25-11 last season and 15-2 at home. The Rams were an NCAA Tournament qualifier last year, losing to Texas in the first round.

UND will now play at Texas-San Antonio at 6 p.m. Saturday in Texas.

The Fighting Hawks will host Dickinson State in Bismarck on Nov. 12, with the first true home game at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center coming Nov. 14 at noon against Utah Valley.

Staff reports and local scoreboards from the Grand Forks Herald Sports desk.