Greyson Uelmen scores 41 to break freshman tournament scoring record, send UND past Denver into semifinals
Mar. 6—SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — It might have been hard for an uninformed fan to figure out who the Summit League Player of the Year was Friday evening at the Denny Sanford Premier Center.
UND's Greyson Uelmen scored 41 points to break the Summit League tournament's single-game freshman scoring record and set a new career-high. Denver's Carson Johnson, the recipient of the league's top accolade, was held to 17 points.
The third-seeded Fighting Hawks took control early and beat the sixth-seeded Pioneers 83-67 in the tournament quarterfinals.
"I looked up, and saw (Uelmen) had 17 already," senior guard Eli King said. "I think that was also part of our game plan, was getting him downhill. Trying to find mismatches and letting him attack. He did a great job finishing at the rim, getting to the free-throw line and then hit some early threes. Super impressive to watch that."
South Dakota State's Noah Freidel set the previous tournament single-game freshman scoring record with 35 points against Purdue Fort Wayne in 2020.
Uelmen's 41 points are the second-most in tournament history. UND guard Treysen Eaglestaff still holds the record with 51 points against South Dakota State on March 7.
"Pretty cool accomplishment," Uelmen said. "But just kind of focused on tomorrow already. Pretty much want to get that one tomorrow."
Uelmen seems to have a knack for scoring against the Pioneers. He scored 30 points against Denver on Jan. 24 to set his previous career best, and notched 24 in a loss on Feb. 7.
"I don't know why," Uelmen said when asked about his proficiency against the Pioneers. "I like the matchup for sure. It's fun to play against some other good guys, so it's fun to have that matchup for sure."
Uelmen scored 19 points in the first half as the Hawks took control of momentum, and didn't cool off in the second.
King also played a pivotal role on the offense. He shot 5-for-9 from 3-point range and scored 20 points.
Denver went into the game averaging 83.3 points per game but shot just 20-for-46 from the field in the loss.
"I don't think they threw anything at us that blindsided us by any means, but they came out with a ton of energy and effort," Denver head coach Tim Bergstraser said. "They were flying around like crazy, and they hit a lot of tough shots. I can't discredit them at all, but I just feel like in that first half, we were playing a little bit on our heels."
Johnson, who averages a conference-high 20.2 points per game, had just three points in the first half.
"I think we all know, he's Player of the Year, had a great year, super talented offensive player," King said. "I think the big thing was being more in the gaps. (He) only got nine shots total. I think that's a big part, he hits tough shots, so just limiting his shot attempts in general I think was big."
Uelmen hit a pair of 3-pointers to cap off a 9-0 run and give the Hawks a 28-17 advantage with 6 minutes, 26 seconds to go to halftime.
UND retained control of momentum as the half came to a close. King joined in on the clutch shot making, shooting 3-for-5 from deep.
The Hawks went into the locker room with a 42-29 lead. They kept the pressure up in the second half, opening on a 12-4 run to extend their lead to 20 points.
The Pioneers were never able to claw their way back. They trailed by 11 or more points for the entire second half.
The Hawks will take on second-seeded St. Thomas in the semifinals on Saturday 25 minutes after the conclusion of top-seeded North Dakota State's semifinal against fifth-seeded Omaha.
It's the program's second consecutive semifinals appearance and third overall.
UND went 1-1 against the Tommies during the regular season. The Hawks suffered a 91-80 loss on Jan. 15 and picked up an 81-80 road win on Jan. 29.
The championship game will be at 8 p.m. on Sunday.
