Santa Clara
The Bison would have a day off in California before playing Santa Clara on Wednesday night following their disappointing loss to CSU Bakersfield on Monday Night. Santa Clara is in the West Coast Conference, which is home to storied programs like Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s. The Bison got off to an awful start in this one as over the first 16:06, they were down 37-18 with a 19-point deficit. The Bison would go on an 11-2 run to end the first half with only a 39-29 deficit heading into the half. Without those 11 points in the final 3:54, the Bison would have been in a really tough spot. For the first 15 minutes, the Bison sort of just “hung around” long enough to stay in it as they were down 61-52 with 6:40 remaining in the game. They continued this trend all the way until 3:30 left. They were down 66-57, but threes from Jackson Moni and Masen Miller would cut this lead down to three with 2:06 left on the clock.
The teams traded twos, and it would be 68-65 with just 33 seconds left. Noah Fedderson was at the free-throw line with 0:31 remaining. He missed the free throw, and Darik Dissette fouled a Santa Clara player to stop the clock. Elijah Mahi for Santa Clara nailed both of his free throws, and it was a five-point game with only 22 seconds left. The Bison drove down the court as quickly as possible, and Jacari White missed a three that was rebounded by Elijah Mahi to pretty much seal the deal, considering Santa Clara was in the Bonus.
Mahi went to the free throw line and missed, so Jacari White drove down the court and splashed a three to make it a two-point game with just seven seconds on the clock. Santa Clara inbounded the ball, and Masen Miller fouled immediately with five seconds left. The Broncos were not in the double bonus yet, so Adama Bal had to make his 1st shot to get a 2nd. He missed, and Masen Miller drove down the court and was fouled with 0.4 seconds left down by two. He had two shots to tie the game. He made them both and we were heading for overtime.
Overtime was pretty back and forth as Santa Clara was up 77-76 with 2:45 remaining. But from there on, it was all Bison. The Herd went on a 13-4 run to end a historic comeback and an 88-80 victory to end their California trip with a win. Jacari White and Jackson Moni both had 19 points. Something else to note is Brennan Watkins played 37 minutes in this game.
Southern Illinois
Following the improbable comeback at Santa Clara came a road trip to Southern Illinois, which is historically very good at basketball. The Bison entered this one with a 2-2 record and were looking to get above .500 on the season through five games. That would not happen. The Bison fell 44-69 while shooting just 26% overall compared to Southern Illinois 52%. The closest this game ever was when it was a 10-point game midway through the 1st half.
The Bison did not have a player score double digits in points in this one, as their leading scorer was Jacari White, with 9 points. The Bison shot 18% from the 3-point line. There are so many stats that can be said to explain why this game went the way it did, but overall, the Bison got it handed to them. The Bison return home this Thursday at 7 p.m. at the SHAC to take on Minnesota-Crookston.
If you want to go to a Bison basketball game, this is one to go to because the Bison won’t be back at the SHAC until Dec. 7th. Get out and support the basketball program.