FARGO, N.D. (SDSU)—South Dakota State fought through foul trouble to win a physical conference game against North Dakota State on Thursday night, winning 90-86 in Scheels Center.
Five Jackrabbits finished in double figures, led by Baylor Scheierman’s 22 points and seven rebounds. Luke Appel scored a career-high 20 points and Douglas Wilson finished with 14. Matt Mims had 13 points on the night, highlighted by perfect 3-of-3 shooting from behind the arc and Zeke Mayo had 11.
SDSU (12-4, 3-0 Summit League) shot 60.3 percent from the field and 76.5 percent from the free throw line. The Jackrabbits had 33 points off the bench and finished with 52 points in the paint.
NDSU was led by Sam Griesel, who had 25 points on the night, and Rocky Kreuser, who finished with 17.
The first half started off slow for the Jacks, as NDSU (9-5, 1-1 Summit League) made their first four 3-point shot attempts and jumped out to an 18-8 lead. SDSU cut down the margin and soon took the lead 32-30 at the 5:40 mark, which was a lead they would never lose.
A 11-0 run by the Jacks, led by eight points from Appel, helped increase the lead for SDSU, who took a 48-37 lead into the locker room.
Despite foul trouble, Jackrabbit dominance continued into the second half, as SDSU made their first nine shot attempts and soon led by 20 at the 13:39 mark. But then NDSU came climbing back, trading baskets with SDSU and putting together scoring runs that minimized the lead.
After plenty of back-and-forth, SDSU and NDSU became tied with 41 seconds left in the half on a second-chance layup from Kreuser. Wilson then received the inbound with six seconds on the shot clock before rocking the rim with an emphatic dunk and taking the lead.
The win was solidified on a block by Wilson and two game-ending free throws from Matt Mims.
Game Notes: