SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Treysen Eaglestaff scored a Summit League-record 51 points — also the most in Division I this season — to power North Dakota to an 85-69 victory over South Dakota State on Friday night in the quarterfinals of the tournament.
Geno Crandall set the previous conference record while playing for the Fighting Hawks, scoring 41 in a victory over Troy during the 2017 regular season.
Eaglestaff’s 51 points are the most by a Division I player in any game since Houston Christian‘s Darius Lee scored 52 in a four-overtime win against McNeese on March 5, 2022. It’s the most points in a non-overtime game against a Division I opponent since Marquette‘s Markus Howard scored 54 against USC on Nov. 29, 2019.
Eaglestaff became the third Division I player to score 50 points in a conference tournament game in the past 30 years. He scored 40 points in a loss to Alabama on Dec. 18, making him the only Division I player with multiple 40-point games this season.
Eaglestaff shot 15-for-28 from the floor, including 8-for-18 from 3-point range, and 13-of-17 from the free throw line. He scored 28 points in the second half.
His 50-point game was the fourth in North Dakota history, with two of the others belonging to NBA coaching legend Phil Jackson (Feb. 24, 1967, 50; March 11, 1967, 52).
The third-seeded Jackrabbits (20-12) were led by Oscar Cluff with 27 points and 17 rebounds. Kalen Garry added 12 points and seven rebounds. Matthew Mors totaled 10 points and seven rebounds.
No. 6 seed North Dakota (12-20) advances to play second-seeded St. Thomas-Minnesota in Saturday’s semifinals.
The Tommies are in Year 4 of a four-year transition to Division I that renders them ineligible for the NCAA tournament. If St. Thomas wins win the Summit crown, the conference’s automatic NCAA tournament bid will be awarded to regular-season champion Omaha, even if the Mavericks lose in Saturday’s semifinal against South Dakota.
ESPN Research and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
