Jackrabbits Fall in Fargo

Jordan Dykstra got off a long 3-point try as the buzzer sounded, but it missed its mark and gave North Dakota State a 65-62 win over South Dakota State in Summit League men’s basketball action on Saturday in Fargo, N.D.

The loss drops the Jackrabbits to 10-5 on the season overall and to an even 1-1 in Summit League play, while the Bison improve to 11-3 overall and to 2-0 in the league.

“I was pleased early, as well as they played, that our kids did a good job of staying in the game and I though we took their best shot and cut it to two at halftime and felt pretty good about that, even though we weren’t rebounding the ball very well,” head coach Scott Nagy said. “We rebounded the ball well in the second half and didn’t turn it over a lot, but quite frankly, we just made a couple of defensive mistakes late that most people don’t see, but that coaches do see.”

The teams traded baskets early, but the Bison used a 11-2 run to take its largest lead of the game at 19-6 with 12:10 left in the first half before the Jacks settled in, and used an 11-2 run to cut the lead to  29-27 at the half.

NDSU pushed the lead to as many as seven points in the second half before the Jacks started climbing back into the game, eventually tying the contest at 48-all on Dykstra’s first points of the game with 10:02 left on the clock.

The Bison got the lead back at the free throw line, before Nate Wolters gave the Jacks their first lead of the game at 50-49 with 9:11 left in the game.

Three more lead changes and two more ties would follow, with neither team leading by more than four points, which the Jacks did at 56-52 with 4:56 remaining.

NDSU scored the next four points to tie the game, and then scored the final four points to secure the win.

Wolters led all players with 26 points, adding five rebounds and three assists. Tony Fiegen finished with 14 points and Brayden Carlson with 12 points, all in the first half. Dykstra scored all seven of his points in the second half.  

Marshall Bjorklund led three Bison players in double figures with 20 points, Lawrence Alexander added 18 and Taylor Braun 11 points, all in the second half in the win.

The Jacks look to get back on the winning track on Thursday, when they travel to Kansas City, Mo., to take on Kansas City in Municipal Auditorium at 7 p.m.

NOTES: North Dakota State now leads the all-time series 109-96 … the Jacks and Bison played in front of an announced crowd of 5,064 inside the Bison Sports Arena … Wolters scored in double figures for the 51st consecutive game and for the 94th time in his career … Wolters scored at least 20 points in a game for the seventh time this season, and for the 48th time in his career … Wolters 26 points gives him 1,894 for his career, leaving him 37 points shy of breaking the SDSU all-time scoring record of 1,931, set by Mark Tetzlaff from 1981-85 … SDSU lost its first game of the season when winning the rebounding battle, which they won 31-26 on Saturday … SDSU scored 12 second chance points, compared to zero by the Bison.

Courtesy: Ryan Sweeter, SDSU Sports Information