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Home > Bison Media Zone > NDSU, Oral Roberts set for Round 3 at Summit League tournament
Podcast: Bison Media Zone
Episode:

NDSU, Oral Roberts set for Round 3 at Summit League tournament
Category: Sports & Recreation
Duration: 00:00:00
Publish Date: 2022-03-07 13:58:15
Description: SIOUX FALLS, S.D. The first semifinal at the Summit League men's basketball tournament isn't the only emotional, super-charged rivalry game on tap for the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center on Monday night.

South Dakota State and South Dakota will play at 6 p.m. for a berth in the tournament's title game, where a victory Tuesday would mean a spot in the NCAA tournament. The arena will be rocking and rolling with 12,000 fans for that one.



But the 8:30 nightcap between North Dakota State and Oral Roberts promises to be a brawl, too.



The hope is it doesn't become an actual brawl.



Second-seeded NDSU beat Denver 82-62 on Saturday in the tournament quarterfinals while third seed ORU downed Western Illinois 80-68 on Sunday night. The Golden Eagles looked sharp, getting a double-double from 6-foot-7, 280-pound Elijah Lufile (18 points, 14 rebounds) and 22 points from sharpshooter Max Abmas, one of the top scorers in the country.


It sets up a third game this season between two teams that likely will not plan vacations together. The Bison and Golden Eagles have a recent history. Odd as it seems, the public school from Fargo and the private, Christian-affiliated school from Tulsa, Okla., have developed a nice little rivalry.



NDSU (22-9) won the previous two meetings this season, while Oral Roberts (19-11) beat the Bison in the Summit League championship last year for a NCAA tournament bid that turned into a Cinderella run to the Sweet Sixteen.



The rivalry became evident Feb. 17 when the teams scuffled after a 77-59 NDSU victory at the Scheels Center in Fargo. ORU coach Paul Mills and NDSU coach Dave Richman exchanged words after the teams shook hands after the game, some players became involved and it escalated into a shoving and shouting match.



Two players from each team were suspended for one half of their next games while Mills and Richman were each reprimanded and fined the maximum $5,000 by the conference.



"You see the emotions of the game. You saw two teams playing until the end and some things spilled over," Richman said after the game. "That's not anything that I want this program to be a part of. There are situations that are going to be learning experiences for myself and our group as we move forward."



Tensions escalated after the teams wouldn't stand down in the late stages of the game. Despite trailing by an insurmountable margin, ORU full-court pressed NDSU and was firing 3-pointers. The Bison responded by continuing to try to score. A late layup by Bison walk-on reserve Kolbe Rada and an at-the-buzzer dunk by Maleeck Harden-Hayes seemed to trigger Mills.



NDSU beat ORU 72-71 in Tulsa in January as Sam Griesel hit a running jumper with 1 second left. Abmsas missed an open 3-pointer at the buzzer.



Oral Roberts held off the Bison 75-72 last March in the Summit League title game at the mostly-empty Pentagon in Sioux Falls. The tournament was played with tight COVID restrictions, but that didn't affect the drama. The Golden Eagles took a 25-point halftime lead before the Bison stormed back in a frantic second half to tie the game 72-72.



Abmas was fouled and made one of two free throws for a 73-72 lead and Griesel's winning attempt was blocked by Francis Lacis, who appeared to get away with contact on the play that wasn't called by the officials.



It all leads to a rematch Monday night, following what is the clear main event between the Jackrabbits and the Coyotes.


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