Bison power to 4th consecutive Summit tournament title game, setting up showdown with South Dakota State

Sam Griesel poured in 26 points to lead the No. 2-seeded Bison to a 92-72 victory against Oral Roberts on Monday, March 7, in the tournament semifinals at the Denny Sanford Premier Center before 10,418 fans.

"I know my teammates and coaching staff have the utmost confidence in me, so playing free and not thinking the game ... and like we talked about all year, just hooping," Griesel said.

The Bison (23-9) started fast and never trailed to overwhelm the Golden Eagles. NDSU plays top-seeded South Dakota State (29-4) at 8 p.m. Tuesday, March 8, for the tournament championship with the winner earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I tournament.

“We’re looking forward to a tremendous challenge," Bison head coach Dave Richman said.

The Bison have advanced to the Summit League title game for a fourth consecutive season and eight of the past 10.

"It's going to be an awesome environment, awesome event, but at the end of the day it's just a basketball game," Griesel said of the matchup with SDSU, which hasn't lost to a Summit League team this season.

Griesel shot 67% (12 of 18) from the floor to score his team-high point total, adding nine rebounds and eight assists. Grant Nelson added 20 points on 9-for-11 shooting for the floor to go along with eight rebounds. The 6-foot-6 Griesel only had one turnover.

“Eight assists, one turnover is remarkable. He’s a heckuva player," Oral Roberts head coach Paul Mills said.

The Bison started to pull away with a run that ended around eight minutes into the second half. They pushed their lead to 70-49 after freshman Andrew Morgan scored in the paint off a feed from Griesel with 12 minutes, 38 seconds to play. Maleeck Harden-Hayes added a tip-in to give NDSU a 72-49 lead with 11:56 remaining, capping a 10-run.

They later added a 15-4 surge that pushed their lead to 30 points. Bison guard Tyree Eady capped that rally with two free throws that gave the Bison a 90-60 lead with 3:33 remaining.

NDSU started strong, making its first eight shots from the field. The Bison didn't miss their first shot from the floor until 14:28 to play in the first half. They took a 23-11 lead after Nelson scored off a rebound with 13:24 to play until halftime.

“They were locked in from the jump and we weren’t," said Oral Roberts guard Max Abmas, who scored a game-high 28 points. “I think we’ve got to be more locked in on the defensive end. Our energy from the jump wasn’t good. ... We didn’t come out with the right energy and they did.”

Griesel had a stellar first half, scoring 21 points on 10-for-13 shooting from the floor. The Bison led by as many as 19 points in the opening 20 minutes, building a 33-14 lead after Griesel scored on a drive to the basket with 9:27 to play in the half.

Abmas helped keep Oral Roberts close in the opening half, scoring 19 points before halftime. The Golden Eagles used a 10-2 run to cut into the Bison lead late in the half. ORU forward Francis Lacis capped that rally with a 3-pointer that trimmed the NDSU lead to 46-39 with 31 seconds to play until the break.

Griesel answered with a 15-foot jumper with 1 second to play until halftime, giving the Bison a 48-39 lead. NDSU shot 62% (21 of 34) from the floor in the opening half. The 6-foot-11 Nelson, from Devils Lake, N.D., had 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the floor with four rebounds and two blocked shots in the first half.

The Bison poured it on after halftime with 44 second-half points. NDSU shot 59% (17 of 29) from the floor in the second half and 60% (38 of 63) from the field for the game. In contrast, Oral Roberts shot 33% (12 of 36) from the floor after halftime.

“Our guys were terrifically engaged that second half," Richman said.

ORU (19-12): Lufile 0-3 0-0 0, Thompson 0-2 0-0 0, Abmas 11-23 2-3 28, McBride 7-18 2-2 19, Lacis 1-6 0-1 3, Bergens 2-2 0-0 5, Jurgens 2-7 2-4 6, Clover III 0-0 0-0 0, Weaver 1-5 0-0 3, Phipps 1-6 3-4 5, Herron 0-0 0-0 0, Lawrence 0-0 0-0 0, Tekavcic 1-1 0-0 3, Plet 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-73 9-14 72.

NDSU (23-9): Eady 3-5 2-3 8, Nelson 9-11 2-2 20, Griesel 12-18 1-4 26, Cook 3-7 1-2 8, Kreuser 5-11 5-7 16, Guy 0-1 0-0 0, Kallman 0-0 0-0 0, Skunberg 2-3 0-0 6, Streit 0-0 0-0 0, Harden-Hayes 1-3 0-0 2, Haman 0-0 0-0 0, Morgan 2-3 0-0 4, Rada 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 38-63 11-18 92.

Half: NDSU 48, ORU 39. 3-point goals: ORU 11-31 (Thompson 0-1, Abmas 4-10, McBride 3-6, Lacis 1-5, Bergens 1-1, Jurgens 0-1, Weaver 1-4, Phipps 0-2, Tekavcic 1-1), NDSU 5-12 (Eady 0-1, Nelson 0-1, Griesel 1-2, Cook 1-2, Kreuser 1-2, Guy 0-1, Skunberg 2-2, Harden-Hayes 0-1). Total fouls: ORU 14, NDSU 13. Rebounds: ORU 35 (Lacis 10), NDSU 45 (Griesel 9). Assists: ORU 4 (four players with 1), NDSU 15 (Griesel 8). Turnovers: ORU 8, NDSU 3.