Bison Come Up Short in Summit League Championship Game, 67-59

Tuesday, March 8

Sioux Falls, S.D.

8 p.m.

North Dakota State Athletics

20-13

South Dakota State

26-7

Team	1	2	F
North Dakota State	29	30	59
South Dakota State	30	37	67

Photo by: Inertia Sports Media

Bison Come Up Short in Summit League Championship Game, 67-59

3/8/2016 11:53:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

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SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The North Dakota State men's basketball team held a second-half lead, but ultimately dropped a 67-59 decision to No. 2 seed South Dakota State in the championship game of the Summit League Tournament on Tuesday night.

NDSU trailed 30-29 at the half, but battled back to take a lead at 40-39 following a three-pointer and a pair of free throws by Paul Miller with just over 14 minutes remaining. SDSU answered with a jumper by Keaton Moffitt to regain the lead and spark an 11-2 Jackrabbit run, giving SDSU a 50-42 lead. The margin grew to 11 when SDSU's Deondre Parks nailed a three pointer for a 59-48 lead with 4:08 to play.

NDSU responded with six straight points – a pair of free throws from both Khy Kabellis and Carlin Dupree, followed by a bucket by Dupree. The deficit was cut to five at 59-54 with 2:30 remaining, but the Jackrabbits maintained a two-possession lead the rest of the way.

Dupree led the Bison with 19 points, and Kabellis added 17 on 7-of-9 shooting. Dexter Werner had nine points and six rebounds for NDSU.

NDSU (20-13 overall) was the first No. 5 seed to reach the Summit League Tournament title game in 32 years.

Dupree was named to the All-Tournament Team. He had the two highest-scoring games of his career in the semifinals (22) and finals (19).

SDSU (26-7) earned a 39-26 rebounding advantage in the game, including 13 offensive boards.

The Bison posted their fourth straight 20-win season for only the second time in school histo