North Dakota State
15-5, 9-1Summit
Oakland
13-10,6-4Summit
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oakland | 44 | 27 | 71 |
| North Dakota State | 40 | 41 | 81 |
Nelson Ignites Late Run as Bison Stop Oakland, 81-71
1/29/2009 10:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
FARGO, N.D.--Mike Nelson scored 21 points and North Dakota State used a late 13-0 run to beat Oakland 81-71 in Summit League men's basketball Thursday, Jan. 29, before a season-high crowd of 4,552 at the Bison Sports Arena.
It was the 11th straight home win and seventh straight overall for NDSU, which improved to 15-5 overall and took a half-game lead over idle Oral Roberts with a 9-1 league record. Oakland dropped to 13-10 overall and 6-4 in the league.
Nelson was one of five Bison players to score in double digits. Ben Woodside notched his third double-double of the season with 16 points and 10 assists, Lucas Moormann scored 10 of his season-high 14 points in the first half, Brett Winkelman had 12 points and led the team with nine rebounds and four steals, and Michael Tveidt added 11 points.
NDSU broke its single-game school record for free-throw percentage. The Bison shot 95.5 percent from the foul line (21-for-22) to pass the old mark of 95.2 percent (20-for-21) set against South Dakota in March 2003.
In a series where the last three games were decided by a total of six points, Thursday's game saw nine lead changes and was tied 16 times.
The last tie was 64-64 after a Keith Benson tip-in and Erik Kangas 3-pointer erased a five-point NDSU lead with 6:35 to play. But Oakland went scoreless over the next 4-plus minutes, missing four field goal tries and three foul shots.
After Winkelman broke the tie with a pair of free throws, Nelson ignited the run with eight straight points, including a pair of 3-pointers that pushed the lead to seven and then 10 points.
Winkelman capped the run with a 3-point play to put NDSU ahead 77-64 with 2:27 left.
Will Hudson led Oakland with 18 points, Johnathon Jones had 17 points and nine assists, Benson finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and three blocks, and Kangas scored 13.
Oakland was 7-for-12 from the 3-point line in the first half but made just 1 of 10 from the arc in the second half.
NDSU had a 33-27 rebounding advantage and outshot Oakland 51 to 47 percent overall.
North Dakota State is scheduled to host IPFW at 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 31. The Mastodons are 8-13 overall and 3-7 in The Summit League after a 76-70 loss at South Dakota State on Thursday.
