Thank you for joining me tonight for coverage of the Summit League championship game. VAVEL USA will have continuing coverage of championship week.
2nd Half (0:00) For the second straight season, the Bison are going to the NCAA Tournament
2nd Half (0:00) Bison win
2nd Half (:7.9) Alexander heads to the lie for the Bison
2nd Half (:8.7) Timeout Bison
2nd Half (:8.7) The call is reversed, Bison ball
2nd Half (:8.7) The call was originally Jackrabbits ball
2nd Half (:8.7) Officials review. 57-56 Bison lead
2nd Half (:29) Timeout Bison they lead 57-56
2nd Half (:52) Jacobson gets called for the travel
2nd Half (1:55) Larson hits the basket and the ensuing free throw to make it a 57-52 Bison lead
2nd Half (2:06) Brown gets called for the charge
2nd Half (2:39) Parks picks up his third foul
2nd Half (2:53) North Dakota State leads 55-49
2nd Half (4:00) Bittle narrows the defecit to six points
2nd Half (5:08) Werner picks up his fourth foul to give the Jackrabbits a one and one
2nd Half (6:19) Werner picks up his third foul
2nd Half (6:32) Timeout South Dakota State.
2nd Half (7:02) Alexander again with the three
2nd Half (8:00) Alexander makes his fifth three of the game to make it 46-40
2nd Half (9:03) Jacobson commits the foul, which will result in three shots
2nd Half (9:26) Alexander puts the Bison up by three
2nd Half (10:14) Larson picks up the blocking foul, his third of the game
2nd Half (10:46) Corey Brown picks up his third foul
2nd Half (11:23) Miller mkes a three to put the Bison within one point
2nd Half (11:55) South Dakota State leads 38-34
2nd Half (12:30) Larson with another monster dunk to extend the lead
2nd Half (13:14) Dupree is called for the charge
2nd Half (13:57) Larson with another monster dunk to give the Jackrabbits the lead
2nd Half (14:06) Werner gets called for the foul
2nd Half (14:44) Alexander makes a three to tie the game at 31
2nd Half (15:56) Brown fouls Bittle as both coaches are told to return to their benches. The score remains tied at 28
2nd Half (17:00) Larson makes a bucket to tie the game at 28
2nd Half (17:13) Brown misses the easy layup, rebounded by the Jackrabbits
2nd Half (17:59) Deandre Parks drains the three to make the score 28-26 Bison
2nd Half (18:18) Bittle picks up his third foul, a foul that results in three shots for the Bison
1st Half (0:00) A series of missed shots ends a irst half that featured fouls, a technical foul, the ball getting lodged between the rim and backboard, and alot of missed shots. The score is tied at 23
1st Half (1:12) North Dakota State takes a tme out with the score tied at 23
1st Half (2:12) Ian Tyson with the monster dunk to tie the game, but misses the subsequent free throw
1st Half (2:25) The Bison extend their lead to 23-21
1st Half (3:47) The Bison lead the Jackrabbits 22-21
1st Half (4:55) To recap the last sequence of events, a live ball foul was called on Larson from South Dakota, then a dead ball technical foul was called on Werner of North Dakota
1st Half (6:30) A dead ball technical foul has been called on Werner
1st Half (6:30) Larson picks up the offensive foul, and proceeds to argue. The call is under review
1st Half (7:55) Brown misses both free throws, missing a chance to extend the lead
1st Half (7:55) North Dakota State leads 17-15
1st Half (8:14) Larson gets tied up by Werner with the posession arrow giving the ball to the Bison
1st Half (9:13) Dexter Werner makes a pair of free throws to tie the score at 15
1st Half (9:30) A bad pass turns the ball over to the Bison
1st Half (10:17) George Marshall gives the Jackrabbits the 14-13 lead with a couple of free throws
1st Half (10:31) Paul Miller gets the rebound as the shots will not fall for either team.
1st Half (13:21) Carlin Dupree makes one free throw to lengthen the lead to a two point lead for North Dakota State
1st Half (13:28) Nobody can make a shot as it remains a one point game
1st Half (15:09) Larson makes two more free throws to make it a 12-11 Bison lead
1st Half (15:09) North Dakota State leads 12-9 at the first TV timeout
1st Half (16:33) Cody Larson makes two free throws to make it a 10-7 Bison lead
1st Half (17:04) Corey Brown picks up his first foul of the game for the Bison
1st Half (18:09) Lawrence Alexander makes a three to put the Bison up 5-3
1st Half (20:00) We are underway from Sioux Falls!
Tip Off is officially scheduled for 9:05 EST
Greetings, my name is Stevie Larson, and I will be taking you through tonight's Summit League championship game. Tip Off is scheduled for shortly after 9:00 EST, and the game will be televised on ESPN2 or on the Watch ESPN app.
One of the biggest keys to watch for in our game tonight will be the three point shooting of South Dakota State. The Jackrabbits have made 253 three-pointers on the season shooting a percentage of 38.2%. In losses, that percentage drops to 33.7% while it is 40.0% in wins. Keep an eye on how successful they are shooting for distance as it could signal whether they will win or lose.
It was the same story in the semi-final round as South Dakota State jumped out to a 44-25 halftime en route to a 78-65 win. Deondre Parks led all scorers with 21 points while George Marshall added 14.
South Dakota State ran out to a 50-21 halftime lead in Sioux Falls before sustaining an 87-50 win. Three players scored in double-figures for the Jackrabbits led by the 13 points of George Marshall. Deondre Parks added 12 points while Keaton Moffitt added 11 points off the bench. South Dakota State saw 14 different players take the floor with 12 players scoring at least one point.
Western Illinois provided the opponent in the quarterfinal round. The two games this season between Western Illinois and South Dakota State could not have been anymore different. SDSU won by 31 points at home before slipping by with a 2-point win away. The former would be the blueprint in the quarterfinals on Saturday.
The path to the Summit League Title Game was not as difficult for South Dakota State. The Jackrabbits bettered their season average of points per game by adding 87 and 78 points to that total in their two games so far.
Oral Roberts got a big game from Obi Emegano who scored 25 points but struggled from the floor shooting just 7-of-24 in the game. Emegano and Bobby Word combined for 35 points on just 11-of-36 shooting for Oral Roberts.
The win set up a big semifinal game with Oral Roberts, a school who had just beaten North Dakota State 11 days earlier. It was a nail-biter but North Dakota State pulled away at the end for a 60-56 win. Lawrence Alexander played the whole game and paced the team with 15 points. A.J. Jacobson played in the frontcourt and struggled with 11 points on 3-of 10 shooting.
North Dakota State entered the Summit League Tournament as the #2 seed setting up a quarterfinal matchup with Denver. The Bison shrugged off a poor shooting performance from beyond the arc (1-of-11) to outlast the Pioneers. Freshman guard A.J. Jacobson scored a career-high 23 points and grabbed six rebounds in the win. The Bison also struggled from the free throw line making just 60.0% of their shots (24-of-40).
Parks finished the game with 11 points. All of the starting five for South Dakota State finished in double figures led by George Marshall’s 20 points. Cody Larson added a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Lawrence Alexander led all scorers with 24 points on 8-of-20 shooting for North Dakota State. A.J. Jacobsen chipped in 14 points.
The second meeting between the two schools came on Valentine’s Day in Brookings as the Jackrabbits converted 10-of-18 shots from beyond the arc en route to a 68-58 win. South Dakota State was saved by Deondre Parks who exploded for 10 points in a three minute stretch to give SDSU a 57-53 lead with 4:40 remaining.
North Dakota State had four players finish in double figures led by Kory Brown with 17 points. Lawrence Alexander added 16 points and Dexter Werner finished with 14 points off the bench. Cody Larson and Deondre Parks finished with 21 points each in the losing effort.
South Dakota State clawed their way back to within one with 44 seconds left after a Deondre Parks three-pointer. Lawrence Alexander made a pair of free throws to push the lead back to three but Parks’ attempt to tie at the buzzer missed allowing the Bison to secure the win.
The first meeting came back on January 4th in Fargo with the Bison escaping with a 72-69 win. North Dakota State held a 14-point lead early in the second half but the Jackrabbits would not go down without a fight.
This will be the third meeting of the year between the two sides with each winning on their home floor.
These two schools finished tied for the Regular Season Conference Championship with records of 12-4. South Dakota State actually had a chance to win the Regular Season Title outright after North Dakota State lost to Oral Roberts in their finale. The Jackrabbits fell to rival South Dakota in their finale though.
This is a matchup of the last three Summit League Conference Tournament Champions and a rematch of the 2013 Championship Game which went in favor of South Dakota State by a final of 73-67.
Good evening and welcome to VAVEL USA’s live coverage of NCAA Division 1 College Basketball. Our game tonight is part of Championship Week, it features the battle of the Dakotas as the North Dakota State Bison take on the South Dakota State Jackrabbits for the automatic bid out of the Summit League.