February 8th Vs. Kansas City
North Dakota State defeated Kansas City in their sixth overtime game of the season 82-78 on Thursday night at The Scheels Center.
Andrew Morgan led the Bison with his career-high of 31 points and a career-high 14 free throws. Boden Skunberg recorded seven rebounds and four assists to lead the Bison in those categories. Skunberg also added 21 points.
The game began with Redshirt Freshman Noah Fedderson making a jumper and Morgan making a three-pointer. The first half was balanced, containing multiple lead changes throughout and neither team having a big lead. Kansas City had the advantage at halftime, being on top 37-32. Being behind by as much as 11 points with nine minutes left, the Bison responded by going on an 11-3 run, resulting in taking the lead 58-57. With 13 seconds left of regulation, Kansas City’s Jamar Brown sunk a three, forcing overtime. Regulation ended with a score of 68 all. When OT came around, Skunberg started it off by making four free throws in a row. The Bison ended up going 10-for-10 at the line, which guided them to victory with a score of 82-78.
The fast-paced game consisted of 10 lead changes and 10 ties. NDSU shot 47 percent from the field, 29 percent from the three, and 87 percent from the free throw line. This was Skunberg’s fourth time this season where he played for more than 40 minutes.
February 10th Vs. Omaha
Two days after defeating Kansas City, the Bison held on for another win at home against Omaha 81-79.
Andrew Morgan led NDSU with 18 points. Jacari White added 12 points including four three-pointers. Noah Fedderson had eight rebounds and five assists. Sophomore Lance Waddles scored 10 points in 18 minutes of play.
The Bison trailed the Mavericks for most of the first half, following Omaha for almost 10 straight minutes at one point. NDSU took the lead with 3:39 left of the first half after Lance Waddles made a three-pointer, leaving the Bison ahead until halftime. The half ended with Fedderson and Omaha’s Frankie Fidler both draining threes with less than 10 seconds left. The score showed 36-35 with NDSU up to start the second half. The Bison dominated the second half, having as much as a 13-point lead with 4:50 left. In the last couple of minutes, the Mavericks went on a 9-1 run, resulting with a score of 75-72 with 34 seconds left. Damari Wheeler-Thomas made six free throws in those final seconds to keep the lead. Fortunately for the Bison, Fidler’s potential game-winning three-pointer with three seconds left came up short, giving them the win 81-79.
The Bison ended the game shooting 54 percent from the field and 50 percent from behind the arc. NDSU collected 18 assists which is a new season-high against a Division I opponent. Morgan made 14 of his 18 points in the last 20 minutes.
Morgan also earned Top Summit League Weekly Honor on Monday. He is the first Bison to receive the honor this season and it is his first of his career.
After getting two wins, NDSU is now 12-13 overall and 5-5 in The Summit League. They will be on the road this week to face Oral Roberts (Thursday, February 15th) and Denver (Saturday, February 17th).