SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – North Dakota’s Treysen Eaglestaff scored a Summit League Tournament record 51 points as he carried the Fighting Hawks to an 85-69 victory over South Dakota State on Friday, March 7, in the conference’s quarterfinal round at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center.
South Dakota State built out its largest lead of the game, 49-35, as the clock ticked to 15 minutes, 42 seconds in the second half. A 7-0 scoring run for UND cut the deficit to single digits.
The Jacks continued to lead until the 8:56 mark. Eaglestaff was fouled on a 3-point attempt and he hit the ensuing opportunities to put the Hawks ahead, 58-56.
SDSU’s next possession saw Oscar Cluff make a layup to tie the score at 58.
North Dakota’s Eli King knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Fighting Hawks a 61-58 edge with just over eight minutes remaining. UND pushed the advantage out from there.
The Fighting Hawks used an 11-0 scoring run to push their lead into double digits with 3:27 to play.
Eaglestaff finished the night going 15-for-28 from the field and 8-for-18 from 3-point range. He also had four points and four rebounds.
North Dakota improved to 12-20 overall on the season. The Fighting Hawks advanced to The Summit League semifinals on Saturday to take on No. 2 St. Thomas. South Dakota State’s appearance in the conference tournament came to a close as the Jackrabbits fell to 20-12 overall.
NOTES
- South Dakota State was outshot by North Dakota 45.8%-31.3% from the field. SDSU’s shooting percentage was a season low along with its 3-for-29 clip from deep.
- The Jackrabbits were led by Cluff’s 27 points and 17 rebounds. It was the senior center’s 22nd double-double of the season. That tied both the SDSU and Summit League record for a single season set by Mike Daum in 2018-19.
- Kalen Garry and Matthew Mors also finished in double digits scoring with 12 and 10 points, respectively. They both also had seven rebounds.
- North Dakota had one other player in double digits scoring as King recorded 13. Amar Kuljuhovic had a team-high nine rebounds.