February 1st at South Dakota State
North Dakota State broke their seven-year losing streak in Brookings on Thursday night by winning in overtime 74-73 at Frost Arena against South Dakota State.
Boden Skunberg led the Bison with 14 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists. Andrew Morgan had 12 points and Jacari White had 10 points.
The first half started with the Jackrabbits on top, leading by as much as 10 in the first six minutes. The Bison then responded to that with a 17-2 run. NDSU had their turn by leading by 10 with a score of 30-20 with 4:30 left before halftime. The half ended with NDSU on top 33-30 after Damari Wheeler-Thomas scored the last three points of the half.
In a very tight second half, White’s three tied the game at 55 with four minutes left of regulation. The Bison led by three points on four separate occasions in the final minutes. With five seconds left, SDSU’s Zeke Mayo dropped a desperate three, tying the game at 65 and forcing the Bison into their fifth overtime game of the season. Overtime consisted of multiple lead changes with no team ever leading by more than two points. With South Dakota State leading by one point with 18 seconds left, a rebound by Skunberg gave the Bison the ball. Skunberg then went for a jumper which missed, but Noah Fedderson’s tip-in won the game with 1.3 seconds left. This was NDSU’s first win in Brookings since 2016. NDSU is now 4-1 in overtime this season.
February 3rd at North Dakota
After having a successful OT win against the Jackrabbits, North Dakota State suffered a loss that went down to the final seconds, leaving the score 60-58 at the Betty Engelstad Souix Center against North Dakota.
Andrew Morgan led the Bison with 14 points. Boden Skunberg and Jacari White both finished with 12 points. Sophomore Tajavis Miller got his season-high of 10 rebounds.
The first half started slow, with the Bison not scoring for the first four minutes. NDSU then went to lead the last 13 minutes of the first half, being ahead by eight a couple of times. Miller made the last shot in the half, having a five-point lead going into the second. The Bison continued to have the lead throughout the second half, with Morgan’s free throw giving them a 9-point lead with seven minutes left. UND fought hard in the last few minutes with a 16-5 run. With 2.6 seconds left of the game, UND’s Amar Kuljuhovic made a layup, giving the Fighting Hawks the win. NDSU shot 48 percent from the field and UND shot 37 percent. This extends UND’s winning streak to six games. North Dakota State is 16-7 against North Dakota in the Division I era.
NDSU is 10-13 overall and 4-5 in the Summit League. They will be home at the Scheels Center next week to face Kansas City (Thursday, February 8th) and Omaha (Saturday, February 10th).