SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The No. 3-seeded North Dakota State men’s basketball team handled No. 2 seed South Dakota State in the semifinals of the Summit League Tournament, posting an emphatic 89-79 victory to advance to the championship game for the fifth straight season.
Boden Skunberg scored 24 points to lead the Bison, and Grant Nelson added 20 points and set a single-game Summit League tournament record with 22 rebounds.
NDSU freshman Damari Wheeler-Thomas finished with 17 points and seven assists.
The Bison shot 56 percent for the game, including 64 percent in the second half. NDSU made 40 percent from three-point range and 17-of-19 at the free throw line.
The Bison led for nearly 37 of the game’s 40 minutes, going up by as many as 21 points in the second half. NDSU was ahead 42-39 with just under 19 minutes remaining when Skunberg and Wheeler-Thomas keyed a 16-4 run over the next eight minutes.
In all, the Bison outscored the Jackrabbits 29-12 over a 10-minute stretch in the second half, going up 71-51 with 7:30 left.
NDSU will play No. 1 seed Oral Roberts at 8 p.m. Tuesday night in the championship game.
Comments