Bison Host Jamestown in Saturday Matinee

Saturday, December 30

Fargo, N.D.

2 p.m.

North Dakota State Athletics

Jamestown

Photo by: Carrie Snyder

Bison Host Jamestown in Saturday Matinee

12/27/2017 3:39:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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Saturday's Game: The North Dakota State men's basketball team (7-6 overall) returns from its Sun Bowl Invitational title to host NAIA opponent Jamestown (11-5) on Saturday, Dec. 30, inside the Scheels Center.
            Sat., Dec. 30            vs. Jamestown            2 p.m. CT

Where to Watch: Saturday's game will be broadcast on Midco Sports Network, as well as being available on ESPN3 and the ESPN app. Brian Shawn (play-by-play) and Greg Stemen (analyst) will call the action.

Radio: The game will be broadcast on 107.9 The Fox and Bison1660, as well as being streamed on the 107.9 The Fox app, the Bison1660 app, and on GoBison.com/allaccess. Jeff Culhane and Jeremy Jorgenson will call the action.

About Jamestown: The Jimmies were picked to finish fourth in the North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) preseason poll and are off to an 11-5 start. Jamestown boasts a high-powered offense that averages 91.6 points per game and is shooting 44 percent from three-point range -- leading all of NAIA Division II in three-point percentage. Head coach Danny Neville is in his third season at Jamestown.
        Jamestown has been led by senior forward Leighton Sampson averaging 17.7 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. Junior guard Kevin Oberweiser is shooting 50.5 percent on more than 100 attempts from beyond the arc.

History with Jamestown: This will be the 42nd meeting between North Dakota State and Jamestown dating back to 1909-10. NDSU leads the series 31-10 and has won 11 in a row, including a 71-34 victory in the last meeting on Feb. 8, 2006. Jamestown hasn't defeated the Bison since 1945-46.

Tough Slate: NDSU's six losses this season have come against opponents with a combined record of 62-16.

Stay Hot: Senior A.J. Jacobson is hot from beyond the arc this season, making 23-of-44 three-point attempts (52 percent) through 13 games.

Home Court Advantage: The Bison are 40-4 at home since David Richman was hired as head coach in 2014.

Winning the Arc: NDSU ranks among the top 70 teams in Division I in three-point FG defense (43rd) and three-point percentage (68th).

Stat Sheet Stuffer: Senior guard Paul Miller leads NDSU in points, rebounds, assists and steals this season.

Second Double-Double: Sophomore Tyson Ward recorded his second career double-double at UTEP on Dec. 22 with 10 points and a career-high 11 rebounds.

Sharp Shooter: Sophomore guard Jared Samuelson has already surpassed his three-point output from last season. He made 16 three-pointers in 28 games last year, and has made 21 in the first 13 games of this year at a 43-percent clip.

Free Throw Bump: Prior to the two games at the Sun Bowl Invitational, only seven Division I teams were attempting fewer free throws per game than NDSU this season. The Bison averaged 13.8 free throw attempts through 11 contests before setting back-to-back season highs with 25 free throws against UNC Wilmington and 29 vs. UTEP.

Big Run Wins Sun Bowl Title: The Bison outscored UTEP 19-2 over the final 7:35 of the game on Dec. 22, pulling away to earn a 63-51 victory and take the Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational title. NDSU trailed UTEP 49-44 with just under eight minutes remaining, but the Bison rattled off a 14-0 run to take a commanding 58-49 advantage with two minutes left.

Minutes Boost: Through 13 games this season, junior forward Spencer Eliason has already played more minutes (236) than in the previous two seasons combined (169). Eliason is shooting 54.8 percent from the field this year.

Freshman Contributions: Both of NDSU's freshmen who are playing this season have already recorded games with 17 or more points. Cameron Hunter scored 24 points at USC on Nov. 13, and Rocky Kreuser put up 17 points vs. Valley City State on Dec. 12. Both Hunter and Kreuser have multiple games scoring in double digits.

Long Distance Barrage: NDSU's 14 three pointers vs. UNC Wilmington on Dec. 21 were the most by the Bison since hitting 14 in a win over South Dakota on Feb. 7, 2015. The Bison connected on 14-of-25 attempts (56 percent) from beyond the arc.

Hot Shooting: In the victory over Valley City State on Dec. 12, the Bison made 40-of-57 shots for 70.2 percent – the second-best team shooting performance in school history. NDSU came up just short of the school record of 70.5 percent, established with a 31-of-44 effort vs. Minnesota State Mankato on Jan. 31, 1987.
    It also ranks as the second-highest team field goal percentage in the nation this season.

Century Mark for Jacobson: A.J. Jacobson is the 15th player in NDSU history to start at least 100 career games for the Bison. Jacobson ranks 6th in school history in minutes average (31.8), 9th in three-pointers made (179), and 9th in career three-point percentage (.402).