Bison Clash with Missouri State Monday for 2nd Time this Season

Monday, December 4

Fargo, N.D.

7 p.m.

North Dakota State Athletics

Missouri State

Photo by: Xavier Bonner

Bison Clash with Missouri State Monday for 2nd Time this Season

12/3/2017 4:38:00 PM | Men's Basketball

NDSU Basketball on Twitter
Complete NDSU Game Notes
Dec. 4 vs. Missouri State Watch | Listen | Live Stats

Monday's Game: The North Dakota State men's basketball team (3-4 overall) will host preseason Missouri Valley Conference favorite Missouri State (7-2) on Monday, Dec. 4, inside the Scheels Center.
Mon., Dec. 4 vs. Missouri State 7 p.m. CT

Where to Watch: Monday'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 (play-by-play) and Jeremy Jorgenson (analyst) will call the action.

Promotions
World champion juggler Josh Horton will perform at halftime
Free NDSU Basketball ice scrapers to 1,000 fans

About Missouri State: Missouri State was voted the preseason favorite to win the Missouri Valley Conference. Senior forward and NBA prospect Alize Johnson leads the Bears with 13.7 points and 10.3 rebounds per game this season.
                The Bears posted a 73-53 victory over South Dakota State on Saturday night in Sioux Falls before continuing on to Fargo.

History with Missouri State: North Dakota State and Missouri State played in basketball for the first time last season, with the Bears earning a 64-50 victory in Springfield. The Bison returned the favor earlier this year, posting a 57-54 win at Missouri State on Nov. 17.

Last Time vs. Missouri State: The Bison pulled out a road victory over the Missouri State Bears on Nov. 17, winning a 57-54 defensive battle at JQH Arena.
                NDSU was led by 14 points from senior A.J. Jacobson. Paul Miller added 13 for the Bison, and sophomore Tyson Ward recorded his first career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
                The Bears were led by 23 points and 20 rebounds from senior forward Alize Johnson, but NDSU limited Johnson to 8-for-21 shooting in the game.
                The game saw seven lead changes. The Bears held a 51-48 advantage with 3:50 remaining, but NDSU tied it up at 52-52 following a pair of buckets in the paint by Ward and Jacobson. The Bison scored their final five points at the free throw line – two from Ward with 2:04 left, two from Jacobson with 1:36 remaining, and one final free throw by Ward with eight seconds left.
                The Bison locked down defensively in the final four minutes. Missouri State missed its final eight shots and didn't score a bucket in the final 3:50.
                NDSU held Missouri State to 33 percent shooting in the game.

Award for Ward: Sophomore Tyson Ward was named the Summit League Player of the Week on Nov. 27 for his performance in two Bison victories on Nov. 22 and Nov. 25. Ward averaged 21.5 points and 6.5 rebounds in the NDSU wins over Florida A&M and Stetson, shooting 68 percent from the field. He scored a career-high 26 points in the blowout win over Stetson on Nov. 25.

Stat Sheet Stuffer: Senior guard Paul Miller is averaging 16.3 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.3 assists over the past four games.

Samuelson Fills it Up: Sophomore guard Jared Samuelson scored a career-high 14 points in NDSU's 54-50 loss at Stephen F. Austin on Nov. 28. He scored 13 of his 14 in the first half.

Into the Top 25: Senior guard Paul Miller ranks 21st in school history with 1,217 points. He needs six points to crack into NDSU's all-time top 20, passing Ron Schlieman (1965-68).

Sharing the Love: NDSU's 20 assists against Stetson on Nov. 25 were its most against a Division I opponent since recording 22 at IUPUI on Jan. 17, 2013.

Assists are Up: The Bison are averaging 13.6 assists through seven games this season – up from 12.1 assists per game last year.

Bench Buckets: NDSU starters are averaging 43.0 points per game this season, with the other 24.3 points per game coming from the Bison bench. NDSU bench players are shooting 49 percent this year.

Halftime Burst: The Bison used a 22-5 run before and after halftime to blow open their victory over Stetson on Nov 25. NDSU closed the first half with a 10-2 burst over the final four minutes, then outscored Stetson 12-3 in the first three minutes of the second half.

New Career High for Ward: Tyson Ward scored a career-high 26 points with a 10-for-12 shooting performance and also grabbed six rebounds in NDSU's 94-58 win over Stetson.

Instant Offense: Sophomores Deng Geu (17.3 points per 40 min) and Cameron Hunter (17.1 points per 40 min) rank second and third for NDSU behind only Paul Miller in points per 40 minutes.

Eliason's First Start: Junior forward Spencer Eliason scored a season-high 7 points in his first career start vs. Stetson on Nov. 25.

Impact Freshman: Redshirt freshman Cameron Hunter scored 35 points in the first two games of his career – 11 at UC Santa Barbara on Nov. 11, and 24 at USC on Nov. 13. The only freshman in NDSU's Division I era to score more points in his first two career games was Mike Nelson (36), who scored 15 against Minnesota and 21 against Hamline in 2005.