Bison Escape with 81-79 Victory over Omaha

FARGO, N.D. (NDSU Athletics)– The North Dakota State men’s basketball team saw its 13-point second-half lead vanish in the final minute, but the Bison held on for an 81-79 win over Omaha on Saturday afternoon inside the Scheels Center.

After starting the game making just 2-of-11 from three-point range, the Bison drained 10 of their next 12 attempts from beyond the arc. NDSU finished 13-of-26 (50 percent) from downtown, and shot 54 percent overall in the game.

NDSU led 74-63 with 3:30 remaining in the contest. A 9-1 burst by the Mavericks cut the margin to three at 75-72 with 34 seconds on the clock. Damari Wheeler-Thomas made six free throws in the final 34 seconds to hold on, as the Bison saw Frankie Fidler’s potential game-winning three-point attempt come up short for Omaha in the closing seconds.

Junior Andrew Morgan finished with 18 points and seven rebounds for NDSU. Boden Skunberg scored 13 points, Jacari White had 12 on four three-pointers, and Noah Feddersen added 11 points, eight rebounds and five assists for the Bison.

With the victory, NDSU improved to 5-5 in The Summit League and 12-13 overall. Omaha fell to 5-6 in the league and 12-14 overall.

Bison sophomore Lance Waddles scored 10 points in 18 minutes off the bench. NDSU racked up 18 assists for a new season-high against a Division I opponent.

The Bison will play at Oral Roberts on Feb. 15 and at Denver on Feb. 17 next week.

Game Recap: Men’s Basketball | 2/10/2024 4:40:00 PM

OMAHA, Neb. – Five Bison reached double figures in scoring as the North Dakota State women’s basketball team picked up an 84-70 win over Omaha on Saturday afternoon at Baxter Arena.

Heaven Hamling recorded 16 points with four rebounds and three assists, while Abby Krzewinski also notched a career-high 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field. Abby Schulte added in a season-high 15 points with six rebounds and Elle Evans added in 12 points and seven rebounds of her own. Abbie Draper logged her first career double-double with a career-high 13 rebounds and 12 points. She also added in a game-high four steals with two blocks.

As a team, the Bison (14-9, 8-2 Summit) shot 51.9 percent (28-54) from the field and 83.3 percent (20-24) from the free throw line. NDSU also snatched 43 rebounds in comparison to Omaha’s 27.

NDSU got off to a fast start in the opening frame building up a double-digit lead, 24-11, after Hamling buried her second three-pointer of the frame at the 3:32 mark. Omaha (5-19, 1-10 Summit) pushed back in the second quarter putting together an 8-2 run to trim the edge to two, 28-26, following a layup from Katie Keitges with 8:12 to play in the half. The Bison responded closing the frame on a 12-3 run capped off by triple from Miriley Simon at the buzzer to make the score 48-39 at the intermission.

The Bison slowly stretched their lead back up to 10, 52-42, after a jumper and layup from Draper at the 7:51 mark of the third quarter. The Mavericks made one final surge assembling a 7-0 run to cut the deficit down to four, 53-49, following a free throw from Kennedi Grant with 4:38 on the clock. NDSU quickly increased its advantage back up to 10, 63-53, with the use of an 8-2 run finished off by a jumper from Hamling at the 1:52 mark. NDSU went on to hold off Omaha over the final quarter to secure the 84-70 win.

NDSU will be back in action on Thursday night hosting Oral Roberts. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m., at Scheels Center.

NDSU Women’s Basketball Picks Up 84-70 Win at Omaha

Game Recap: Women’s Basketball | 2/10/2024 5:32:00 PM