SIOUX FALLS, S.D.—South Dakota built a double-digit, second-half lead only to see North Dakota State rally late to earn a 79-75 Summit League Tournament semifinal win inside the Sanford Pentagon Monday night.
The Bison (15-11) got 20 points from Rocky Kreuser and 16 from Sam Griesel to advance to Tuesday’s championship game against fourth-seeded Oral Roberts. The duo combined for 29 second-half points and scored all 19 Bison points in the final 6:10.
South Dakota (14-11) got a game-high 23 points, nine rebounds and five assists from senior star Stanley Umude along with 19 points from Xavier Fuller and 14 each from Tasos Kamateros and Kruz Perrott-Hunt. But foul trouble plagued USD for much of the game and the Bison made 24-of-31 from the free-throw line to overcome the Coyotes’ shooting advantage.
“I couldn’t be more proud of our group,” said USD head coach Todd Lee. “We lost our starting point guard, and it was emotional. We won a game at the tournament, we came back tonight and we could have won this one. This group has nothing to hang their head about. They did a tremendous job.”
Kamateros and Fuller helped South Dakota shoot 62 percent in the first half (15-of-24) and pushed the Coyotes to a 40-32 halftime lead. Kamateros was 5-of-7 from the field in the opening stanza and Fuller was 5-of-6. NDSU made 11-of-30 for 36 percent in the first half.
Back-to-back assists from Umude to first Fuller and then Mason Archambault gave USD its largest lead of the game at 44-34 less than two minutes into the second half. But Kamateros picked up two quick fouls in the half and NDSU reached the bonus for the final 13:50.
Still, South Dakota kept turning the Bison away. Perrott-Hunt hit a 3, Umude made a pair of free throws and then buried a triple to make it 66-57 with seven minutes left.
That’s when Krueser and Griesel made their move. It started with a Jarius Cook 3-pointer to end the Coyotes’ run. A pair of and-1’s from Krueser and Griesel gave NDSU its first lead since early in the ball game at 70-68 with 4:01 left.
The Bison scored on 10 consecutive possessions starting with the Cook 3 and ending with the final points of the game. NDSU had offensive rebounds on four of those trips and the last one was a dagger. Trailing 77-75, South Dakota forced Griesel into a long, step-back 3 that was off the mark. But USD was last to touch a ball that fell out of bounds, and with 22 seconds left, USD was forced to foul.
Griesel made a pair of free throws with 15 seconds to go and a turnover on the Coyotes’ ensuing possession sealed it.
It was a valiant effort for a USD squad who lost at home by 12 to NDSU eight days ago, its first game following Plitzuweit’s injury. South Dakota had won the previous meeting 80-71 the day before. Credit a starting five that logged long minutes and still shot 54 percent from the field. It took 15 offensive rebounds and the 24 free throws for the Bison to advance.
(Bryan Boettcher, South Dakota Sports Information, contributed this report.)
