by SIOUX FALLS – South Dakota State held off a late rally from North Dakota State to defeat the Bison 77-75 on the opening night of the CU Mortgage Direct Dakota Showcase at the Sanford Pentagon.
The Jackrabbits (4-2) won their third in a row by building up a 14-point first half lead and never letting the Bison (0-5) catch up. It wasn’t that easy, however.
Playing without Summit League Player of the Year Douglas Wilson, the SDSU defense stymied the Bison throughout much of the first half. After falling behind 7-6, the Jacks held NDSU scoreless for the next 7:19 and without a field goal for a stretch of 9:20 in the half.
Junior Luke Appel stepped in admirably for Wilson, scoring seven of the Jacks’ first 21 points. SDSU limited the Bison to 30 percent shooting in the first (8-for-26) and led 33-26 at the break.
The Bison crawled back to within three with nine minutes left, but missed a game-tying 3-pointer. Noah Freidel responded with a triple and Baylor Scheierman scored on consecutive possessions, capping an 8-0 run that stretched the lead to 11.
Freidel converted a layup off Scheierman’s feed to put the Jacks up 68-59 with 4:16 remaining, but NDSU had one last surge. The Bison scored eight straight, drawing within 68-67, but SDSU kept the lead thanks to two David Wingett (Winnebago) free throws, a Friedel jumper, and a defense that held the Bison scoreless for the next two minutes.
NDSU had one final chance, trailing by two with nine seconds remaining, but the Jackrabbit defense did not permit a Bison shot, forcing a turnover and running out the clock.
Scheierman scored 14 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for his third consecutive double-double. Freidel led the Jacks with 17 points, while Arians added 16. Appel posted a career-high 11 points, connecting on 4-of-6 in only 11 minutes. David Wingett added 9 points on the evening.
Sam Griesel led all scorers with 20 points while also contributing eight rebounds and seven assists to the Bison cause. Maleeck Harden-Hayes tallied 18 points and Rocky Kreuser added 17 for NDSU.
