GRAND FORKS – The UND student section chanted “We want Bama” after the opening tip-off between the Fighting Hawks and No. 6 Alabama on Wednesday night at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.

Alabama center Clifford Omoruyi turned the ball over in the first 15 seconds. UND guard Eli King grabbed the steal, hit a layup and kept the Betty crowd on their feet.

The 3,085 crowd at Betty saw a close, exciting game the rest of the game, with No. 6 Alabama ultimately emerging with a 97-90 win over UND.

“It’s like a movie,” UND guard Treysen Eaglestaff said. “It’s like a dream. It doesn’t seem real. Your heart stops for a moment. It’s a crazy feeling.”

The Crimson Tide traveled to Grand Forks to give Devils Lake native Grant Nelson one final college game close to home. Nelson delivered a solid performance, scoring 23 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in Alabama’s win.

But Eaglestaff, a Bismarck native, shined in the win, UND’s first home game against a top-10 team since third-ranked Kansas played UND at Ralph Engelstad Arena in December 2001.

Eaglestaff made his eighth 3-pointer of the night – a career high – with 21.6 seconds left, giving him 40 points on the night and 1,000 career points at UND.

“I can’t sleep on these North Dakota boys,” said Nelson, who was named North Dakota Mr. Basketball in 2020, two years before Eaglestaff. “They can really play basketball. He is a great player. He’s going to get paid a lot of money to play basketball.”

The UND junior guard said this game will jump to the top of his list of the best games of his career, surpassing a high school match between Eaglestaff and Bismarck High and two of his current UND teammates, Ryan Erikson and Anthony Doppler .

“I usually give (Erikson and Doppler) a lot of crap because I had a 52-point triple-double against them in high school,” Eaglestaff said. “This one could certainly pass the Bismarck High Century game.”

An Eaglestaff pull-up gave UND an 81-80 lead with 3 minutes, 19 seconds left.

King sank a second-chance 3-pointer to tie the game at 85 with 2:15 left.

“We played terribly most of the game,” Nelson said. “When we came in, we didn’t take these guys too seriously. I told them this is a big game on their home court. We have to come in and take these guys seriously. They play for a lot. They played great. It’s a great team and I think they’ll win a lot of games.”

A jumper and two made free throws by Nelson gave Alabama a four-point lead, 89-85, with 1:25 left.

Eaglestaff’s 3-pointer with 21 seconds left put the Hawks behind by three points, seemingly giving UND a chance to pull off an upset. But Nelson’s two free throws in the final second sealed Alabama’s victory.

“Good game,” UND coach Paul Sather said. “It’s great to have such a great game, but part of me, and I know these guys feel this, also feels like we had some chances that we didn’t take. Let’s not settle for being satisfied. Let’s keep fighting to get better.”

Nelson’s double-double took place in front of about 300 family and friends, with most occupying the five rows of seats behind Alabama’s bench.

“I’m grateful to my hometown fans, to all the people who supported me throughout my basketball career,” Nelson said. “It’s great to come back to these guys. That was a great team we played against tonight.”

The sell-out crowd at Betty created a lively atmosphere during the game.

“It was crazy for me,” UND forward Dariyus Woodson said. “I’m from (junior college). We had 10, maybe 15 people at the games.”

Alabama coach Nate Oats said the Tide’s scouting report focused on Eaglestaff. Still, he “easily put in the best individual performance we’ve had all year,” Oats said.

“He made some really strong shots in the second half,” Oats said, “and he made some of those three-pointers he had.” For him to get 40 against us shows how talented he is. He is skilled. Very good player. Tried to make some adjustments to Eaglestaff (at halftime). Obviously it didn’t work because he killed us in the second half.”

Although Eaglestaff’s 40-point performance against the top-10 team was impressive to everyone at the Betty, his postgame thoughts focused on the shots he missed, including a pair of tight three-pointers in the final minutes of UND’s fourth-down loss in a row.

“It’s a lot of what ifs,” Eaglestaff said.

Sather was grateful that Oats and Alabama agreed to visit Grand Forks this season. Oats also praised UND after the Tide’s win.

“They were good,” Oats said. “They were ready to go. Hopefully this gets North Dakota going and hopefully it helps their season.”