(NDSU Athletics) SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Freshman Tajavis Miller came through in the clutch to lift the North Dakota State men’s basketball team to a thrilling 70-68 victory over No. 6 seed South Dakota in the quarterfinals of the Summit League Tournament on Sunday night.
With the Bison trailing by three, Miller drilled a three-pointer to tie the game at 67-67 with 2:15 remaining. After the Coyotes went up one with a free throw in the final minute, Miller hit a driving floater to give NDSU a 69-68 lead with 15 seconds left.
At the other end, South Dakota’s Damani Hayes broke free and went up for a dunk in the closing seconds, but Miller met him at the rim for a game-saving block.
The No. 3 seed Bison advance to play No. 2 seed South Dakota State in the semifinals at 8:30 p.m. on Monday night.
Junior Grant Nelson led the Bison with 23 points, 11 rebounds and four assists. Boden Skunberg scored 17 points for NDSU.
Nelson surpassed 1,000 points for his career to become the 39th member of NDSU’s 1,000 Point Club. He also became the 21st player in NDSU history to score 500 points in a season.
The game had 12 lead changes and 10 ties. NDSU led by nine in the first minute of the second half, but South Dakota battled back to go ahead by four at 63-59 with 4:30 left.
