Post-game altercation mars win
The North Dakota State men’s basketball team won their sixth straight game on Thursday, defeating Oral Roberts 77-59. That gives the Bison wins in nine of their last 10 games.
The Herd started off hot from three-point range, shooting 8-12 from deep in the first half to give them a 39-34 lead going into halftime.
In the second half, NDSU put the clamps on, holding the Golden Eagles to just 25 second-half points.
With just over 11 minutes remaining NDSU led 53-49 and proceeded to go on an 18-2 run over the next 8:30 to give themselves a 71-51 lead.
The defensive performance for NDSU was outstanding as they limited the fifth-highest scoring team in the country to just 59 points. To put that in perspective, ORU came into the matchup, averaging over 83 points per game. The Herd held the Golden Eagles to their lowest point total of the season, and they shot just 34 percent from the field.
Sam Griesel led the way offensively, scoring 22 points and grabbing five rebounds. Rocky Kreuser was the only other Bison in double figures with 13 points and nine rebounds.
A milestone was achieved on Thursday as well, as Tyree Eady surpassed 1,000 career points thus becoming the 38th player in NDSU history to reach the milestone.
The win improves NDSU’s record to 20-8 on the season and 12-4 in Summit League play. More importantly, with the win, the Bison have now moved into second place in the Summit League standings. In the post-game press conference, Bison Head Coach Dave Richmann was thrilled with his team’s performance. “You know I’ve been up on this podium playing this year and at times, even after wins, I’ve just been disappointed in how we’ve played because I thought there was a better version of ourselves out there,” Richmann said. “You get a version…you get a vision in your head of what you see from a group that you know is in there and has a chance to be really special and this is it…”
During the post-game team handshake, a shoving match broke out between both teams after the NDSU and ORU head coaches exchanged words. Golden Eagles C/F Elijah Lufile appeared to be bleeding from the mouth after the exchange. At the time of this article’s posting, there was no word from the Summit League regarding any disciplinary action. Coach Richmann had the following comments, “What happened at the end, you know we’ve got a ton of respect for Paul Mills and Oral Roberts and the run they made last year and the success that he’s built into that program,” Richmann said. “You see the emotions of the game, you saw two teams playing to the end and some things spilled over. That’s not anything that I want this program to be a part of…some situations that are going to be some learning experiences for myself and or group as we move forward…”
NDSU had their last home game of the season at 1 p.m. on Saturday against Kansas City at Scheels Center.