Inertia

Men's Basketball

Fidler caps late-game flurry to rally No. 6 Omaha past No. 3 North Dakota

The Basics
Score: No. 6 Omaha 73, No. 3 North Dakota 72
Records: North Dakota (18-13, 10-6 SL), Omaha (14-17, 7-9 SL)
Location: Denny Sanford PREMIER Center - Sioux Falls, S.D
 


SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – For the second time in his career, Omaha junior Frankie Fidler scored 34 points in a Summit League Men's Basketball Tournament game. This time, it was in a victory as the All-League First Teamer's late heroics capped a 10-0 run by the sixth-seeded Mavericks in the closing to minutes to defeat No. 3 seed North Dakota 73-72 

Fidler went 15-for-27 from the field to tie the Summit League Tournament single-game record and his record-tying basket with three seconds left gave Omaha wins in back-to-back postseasons under second-year head coach Chris Crutchfield.

Omaha took its first lead of the game at 19-18 on a short jumper from Davis in the paint at the 8:41 mark of the first half. From there, the Mavericks would extend their lead to as many as seven as Fidler scored four of his 12 first-half points to make it a 25-18 contest.

North Dakota sophomore B.J. Omot would quiet that mini-run as he brought the Fighting Hawks back after scoring eight of UND's 10 points during a two-minute stretch that saw the Fighting Hawks regain the lead at 30-28.

The final four-plus minutes would go back-and-forth with UND eventually taking a 36-32 halftime lead thanks to a driving layup by Tyhree Ihenacho that bounced around the rim and fell through as the buzzer sounded. 

The Mavericks had it within two points at 39-37 after a spinning layup from Marquel Sutton just over three minutes into the second half but UND would not relinquish the lead until Fidler's dramatic field goal at the end. Treysen Eaglestaff, who led UND with 18 points, would provide his team with its first double-digit lead of the game on a triple at the 11:14 mark.

Fidler, who had 34 points in a quarterfinal clash with top-seeded South Dakota State during his freshman season, and Nick Davis each had and-one opportunities for the Mavericks right after that but missed their free throws.

Omot made them pay with his first points after the break when he drilled a three pointer from the left wing to push the lead back to 63-54. It would be his only points after halftime, however, as the Fighting Hawks could not put Omaha away.

Marquel Sutton, who joined Filder in double figures with 13 points, made a putback with just over a minute to play to pull the Mavericks within a point at 72-71. They forced a miss on UND's next possession to set up a final possession for Omaha.

Fidler missed his first attempt with eight seconds to play but secured his 10th rebound of the game to give him one more chance after he got a timeout in the corner.

Fidler would get the ball on the baseline and drive towards the middle to get his runner to go.  UND got a desperation heave from Eli King but it was off the mark.

Omaha will play No. 7 seed Denver, who pulled of its own late heroics in the quarterfinals Saturday, in Monday's second semifinal at 8:30 p.m. CT on CBS Sports Network.

Turning Point 
Fidler capped the decisive 10-0 run in the closing two minutes with his 15th field goal of the contest with three seconds to play. 
 
Inside the Box Score
  • Fidler equaled his season-high with 34 points and is now averaging 25.0 ppg in four career Summit League Tournament games. He also tied the Summit League Tournament single-game record with 15 field goals, equaling the mark set by Oakland's Derick Nelson vs. IUPUI in 2010.
  • With 10 rebounds, he now has three double-doubles in his Summit League postseason career with one each over the past three seasons.
  • Amar Kuljuhovic had eight points and pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds to give him 12 games with double-figure boards this season. 
  • Fidler had half of Omaha's field goals as the Mavericks finished 30-for-60, while UND went 27-for-55.
  • The Fighting Hawks led 72-63 after a pair of free throws from Tsartne Tsartsidze but did not score again.
News & Notes 
  • UND is now 3-5 all-time in the Summit League Tournament and is 0-2 against Omaha after the Mavericks beat the Fighitng Hawks in the 2019 quarterfinals, which was the program's debut at the event. 
  • Omaha also advanced to the semifinals for the first time since 2019 when they fell in the title game as the No. 2 seed to No. 4 seed North Dakota State. 
  • Fidler equaled his season-high that he set on Jan. 13 in an overtime home win over North Dakota State. It was his fourth 30-plus point scoring game of the season and seventh of his career.
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