Men’s Basketball Splits Road Trip at Oral Roberts and Denver – the Spectrum

February 15th at Oral Roberts

North Dakota State dominated against Oral Roberts on Thursday night 73-60 in the Mabee Center.

Andrew Morgan and Tajavis Miller both led the Bison with 18 points. Boden Skunberg added 14 points and Noah Fedderson got a season-high of 10 rebounds.

Oral Roberts was ahead for the first eight minutes of the game until Miller made a three, giving them the lead for the first time. After a couple of lead changes and the score tied at 28, Jacari White’s three-pointer and a pair of layups by Miller put NDSU up by seven with two minutes left of the half. The Bison had the advantage at halftime 38-30. NDSU then maintained their lead throughout the entire second half. Oral Roberts came within five points with 4:50 left, but then went scoreless and was 0-11 for four straight minutes. The Bison ended on a 10-2 run to end with the score of 73-60.

NDSU shot 42 percent from the field and 39 percent from behind the arc. Oral Roberts shot 34 percent from the field and 24 percent from the three. The Bison held the Golden Eagles to their lowest scoring performance in the Mabee Center this season with 60 points. They also matched its season-low for a D-1 opponent.

February 17th at Denver

North Dakota State headed to Denver two days later, falling to the Pioneers 77-71 after a 20-point come-back at the Hamilton Gymnasium.

Tajavis Miller led the Bison with 21 points, Jacari White added 13 points and a career-high of eight rebounds. Miller also started 5-for-5 at the three-point line.

The first half had multiple lead changes throughout, with neither team leading by over four points until the five-minute mark. NDSU then gained a greater lead in the remaining five minutes before halftime with the help of Miller making three three-pointers and two free throws. The Bison were in the lead by 10 at halftime with a score of 38-28. Boden Skunberg, Damari Wheeler-Thomas, and Miller all contributing threes, NDSU led Denver by 20 points with 16:09 left of the game 52-32. In the next 11 minutes, the Pioneers went on a 35-9 run, taking the lead for good and defeating NDSU 77-71. The Pioneers greatest lead in the game was six points,

The Bison went 45 percent from the field and 34 percent from the three. The Pioneers shot 54 percent from the field and 31 percent from the three. Denver also shot 62 percent in the

second half alone. Denver’s Tommy Bruner scored 41 points, 30 of which were made in the second half. Bruner is the nation’s leading scorer with averaging 25 points per game.

North Dakota State is now 13-14 overall and 6-6 in Summit League Play. They will be back at The Scheels Center this week hosting St. Thomas (Thursday, February 22nd) and North Dakota (Saturday, February 24th)