Hawks soar higher as GRAND FORKS said – The University of North Dakota believes it is never too late to turn around a season. The Hawks proved it Thursday night, winning 86-63 over Denver in a Summit League men’s basketball game in front of 1,448 people at The Betty.
The Fighting Hawks improved to 3-10 in the conference and 9-17 overall. That record won’t raise many eyebrows, but UND’s performance in its last two games may have opponents reconsidering the Hawks as the Summit postseason tournament approaches.
As per the news, he stated
“Our guys are maturing and they’re really understanding their roles better,” said UND coach Paul Sather. “Better late than never on this stuff, right?
“We’re in a league where it honestly doesn’t matter where the heck you finish, You just want to be playing your best basketball late in the year. And with five games to play, I feel like we’re starting to feel that.”
Recently UND coach Paul Sather shared a tweet in which a young player Treysen Eaglestaff is being Introduced to the world through a tweet
Get to know Treysen Eaglestaff, a standout Nistler College Student-Athlete on the UND Men's Basketball team in this Q & A with the freshman phenom! 💚 🏀
Last week, UND defeated South Dakota 86-72 on the road. Five days later, UND won another double-digit game while playing near faultless basketball for much of the game. The previous two strong defensive performances were complemented with balanced scoring, highlight-reel fastbreaks and dunks, and an aggressive and confident team.
UND will play three of its final five Summit League regular-season games at home. If the Hawks do well at home, they could pose a threat in the first round of the Summit tournament.
“We definitely have a lot of young guys here and guys who haven’t played at the collegiate level a lot,” said fifth-year player Mitchell Sueker. “I think over the course of the season, guys are growing up and really figuring out what the conference season takes. Everyone is making those steps and strides to close out games.”
UND was never behind
UND was never behind. Four Hawks scored in double figures, topped by B.J. Omot’s 16 points. They outrebounded a taller Denver club 37-24 and shot 56%. The Hawks’ bench contributed 21 points.
Denver, paced by Tevin Smith’s 17 points, made things interesting only once. The Pioneers (4-10, 13-14) used a 5-0 run to pull within 52-42. The Hawks answered with a 10-0 run over the following two minutes to put the game out of reach. Matt Norman hit back-to-back 3-pointers to highlight the rally.
The scoring of UND point guard Jalun Trent, who finished with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting, was a significant plus. His ability to drive to the basket and finish made it simpler for other UND players to get nice shots from the outside.
“I’m just trying to come out each night with that mentality,” said Trent. “I just want to play hard and show what I can do.”
UND’s defense has been much improved in the last two games, allowing 72 and 63 points, respectively. The Hawks surrendered 84, 92, 91, and 96 points in their previous four losses. Trent said
“It feels like we got back to the beginning of the season when we were playing better defense,”
And UND’s defense has resulted in an enthusiastic and productive attack during the last two games.
“Offensively, we’re making a lot of the right plays,” said Sather. “Our guys are playing with some purpose and some intention. We’re getting the ball where it needs to go and then the guys are making good decisions.”
About John King
I've loved writing and learning about things ever since I was a little boy. I love my job as an author for a news company in Chicago, where I live. I've always wanted to help people learn about and keep up with the latest news. I'm very passionate about what I do, and I'm sure that hard work always pays off. I really like what I do, and I'm lucky that I can call it my job. I usually spend my free time reading or hanging out with my family and friends.
