Bison fall short of big dance

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Nate Wolters battled through a tight defense and finally got his chances in the second half, scoring 27 points to lead South Dakota State past North Dakota State 73-67 Tuesday night in the final of the Summit League tournament.

Wolters also had five rebounds and six assists for South Dakota State (25-9), which won the conference tournament and a berth in the NCAA tournament for the second straight season.

Jordan Dykstra had 18 points and seven rebounds for the Jackrabbits, and Tony Fiegen, who began the second half by hitting back-to-back jumpers, contributed 12 points.

Taylor Braun led North Dakota State (24-9) with 23 points, including two consecutive three-point plays where he aggressively sliced into the paint. S. DAKOTA ST. 73, N. DAKOTA ST. 67

N. DAKOTA ST. (24-9)

Wright 3-9 2-2 9, Bjorklund 4-5 0-0 8, Alexander 1-7 4-4 7, Brown 3-4 0-0 6, Braun 9-18 4-4 23, Felt 3-8 0-0 9, Zastrow 1-1 0-0 3, VandenBergh 0-1 0-0 0, Kading 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 25-54 10-10 67.

S. DAKOTA ST. (25-9)

Fiegen 5-11 2-2 12, Dykstra 5-9 7-7 18, Wolters 8-15 9-10 27, Carlson 3-5 0-0 9, White 2-6 0-0 4, Bittle 0-0 1-2 1, Heemstra 0-2 2-2 2. Totals 23-48 21-23 73.

Halftime—S. Dakota St. 29-25. 3-Point Goals—N. Dakota St. 7-20 (Felt 3-6, Zastrow 1-1, Alexander 1-3, Wright 1-4, Braun 1-5, VandenBergh 0-1), S. Dakota St. 6-16 (Carlson 3-3, Wolters 2-6, Dykstra 1-4, White 0-3). Fouled Out—Bjorklund. Rebounds—N. Dakota St. 26 (Wright 8), S. Dakota St. 29 (Dykstra 7).

Assists—N. Dakota St. 9 (Alexander 4), S. Dakota St. 12 (Wolters 6). Total Fouls—N. Dakota St. 19, S. Dakota St. 11. A—6,544.

Tags: sports, bison, basketball