Bison drop close battle to Eastern Washington 78-70 

In their first game since the Lobo Classic in New Mexico, North Dakota State returned to floor Saturday in Cheney, Wash. to face off against the Eastern Washington Eagles. The Bison entered the game with a measly 1-7 record and would be without leading scorer Grant Nelson due to an ankle injury. 

In previous games, North Dakota State had poor shooting percentages from the field in first halves before picking up the slack in the final twenty minutes. However, Saturday’s game was an exception to previous games’ disproportionate slash lines. While Eastern Washington shot 51% from the field in the first half and led by as many as 11 points, the Bison didn’t fare too poorly either as they shot 46%, their second highest of the season. 

North Dakota State slashed 47/38/100 shooting percentages for the first half and nearly overcame a double-digit deficit in the final six minutes. Trailing 30-19, guards Tajavis Miller and Boden Skunberg led the way as the Bison went on a 16-8 run to close out the half and trail just 38-35 at the break. 

The Eagles shot identical percentages in each half of the game at 51.6%, going 16 for 31 in both halves. Leading the way was redshirt sophomore Steele Venters. In 36 minutes of action, Venters torched the Bison with 33 points on 14-19 shooting. Venters, who has scored in double figures in each of his last four games, was one of just two Eagles to score 10 or more points. The next three highest scorers for Eastern Washington combined for just 30 points, three less than Venters’ total. 

The Bison would get a big spark from their bench once again. Jacari White, Damari Wheeler-Thomas, and Joshua Streit combined for 26 points on 14-19 from the field. White, who is coming off a career-high 19 points last Sunday, led the team along with Wheeler-Thomas with 14 points including a perfect 3-3 from long distance. In his first five games played, White had totaled just 11 points but has since seen his points per game average rise from 2.2 to 6.3 in the last two matchups. 

David Richman’s team was able to stay on par with the Eagles for much of the second half despite zero points from Boden Skunberg and Andrew Morgan until the final minute of play. White and Wheeler-Thomas tallied 23 of their combined 28 points in the second half and were key to the Bison outscoring the Eagles in bench points 37-17 for the game. 

Despite the efforts of White and Wheeler-Thomas, the Bison faltered late in the game as the Eagles stretched their lead near double digits and prevailed 78-70. While Eastern Washington improves to 3-5, North Dakota State falls again and drops to 1-8 on the season.  

Game Stats: 

Damari Wheeler-Thomas; 14 Pts; 6-8 FG; Jacari White; 14 Pts; 3 Ast; 3-3 3P 

Bison record first Division I victory of season over Portland 67-62 

Coming off a close battle with Eastern Washington on Saturday in which the Bison ultimately fell short, North Dakota State picked up a five-point victory on the road against a Portland Pilots team that recently defeated Villanova over Thanksgiving break. Portland also lost to ranked North Carolina and Michigan State teams by single digits. As Grant Nelson was absent from the lineup again, others such as Boden Skunberg stepped up and recorded a double-double en route to the Bison victory. 

The Bison got off to a much-needed fast start in the first half as they jumped out to a 21-9 lead with 6:38 to go in the first half. Damari Wheeler-Thomas, who was coming off a career-high 14 points on Saturday, got the start on Monday evening and made a significant impact. The freshman guard from Elgin, Ill. scored 8 of the Bison’s first 21 points and finished with 12 points for the game along with snatching six rebounds. The Pilots would go on a 15-7 run to end the half, but David Richman’s team would possess a 28-24 advantage going into halftime, just the second time they’ve done so this season. 

While North Dakota State shot a mediocre 41% from the field in the first half, they made up for it with a stifling defensive performance. In the first half of play, North Dakota State held Portland to just 30% from the field whilst connecting on just one three-pointer. Portland’s leading scorer Tyler Robertson, who had been averaging north of 16 points per game entering Monday, was good for just 4 points in the first half. While Robertson did make an impact by recording 11 rebounds and dishing out 7 assists, being held to 3-18 for the game is substandard for Robertson. 

To start the second half, the Pilots would pull even closer by going on an 8-2 run to start the half. Portland’s Kristian Sjolund led the way to start the half, scoring 5 of his 10 second half points during that stretch. The game would stay close the rest of the way and was filled with many lead changes. The last five minutes, however, would be dominated by the Bison. After falling behind 55-52 with 5:17 to play, North Dakota State went on a 15-7 to finish the game. 

Dominating the second half for NDSU was junior guard Boden Skunberg, who scored 16 of his career-high 20 points in the second half. With NDSU up by three with five seconds to go, Skunberg officially put the game away with a clutch offensive rebound and was subsequently fouled. He hit both free throws to ice the game and clinched North Dakota State’s first win in just over two weeks. 

Portland saw a slight yet insignificant improvement in their offensive output in the second half. While the Pilots improved to 37% shooting in the second half, the Bison outdid them and made 46% of their shots in the final half while also outscoring Portland 39-38 to finish with a 67-62 victory.  

With the win, the Bison return to Fargo with a good taste in their mouths. As Portland falls to 7-5, the Bison improve to 2-8 on the season with just two non-conference games remaining. The Bison are back in action this weekend where they take on Montana on Saturday, December 10, with the tip-off scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Less than 24 hours later, North Dakota State will hit the floor again at the Scheels Center to face off with Waldorf at 5:00. 

Game Stats: 

Boden Skunberg; 20 Pts 10 Reb 9-10 FT; Tajavis Miller; 17 Pts 3-7 3P; 

Damari Wheeler-Thomas; 14 Pts 6 Reb 5-9 FG