The North Dakota State Bison Men traveled down south I-29 for another rivalry game in the South Dakota State Jackrabbits Wednesday night.
Senior Jacksen Moni started his great night of scoring, hitting the first six of eight points of the game for the Bison. The second shot he hit, gave the Bison an early 6-5 lead. South Dakota State would regain the lead for a moment off of an Isaac Lindsey three-point make with about eight and a half to go in the half. Shortly after Lindsey’s made three, Jacari White peeled down into the lane off of a pass by Andy Stefonowicz and slammed it home, giving NDSU the lead back.
North Dakota State would lead for the rest of the first half, a half that didn’t see the Bison secure a comfortable lead. Six points was the largest lead of the half for NDSU up until Jacksen Moni scored his 13th point of the half via a layup, giving NDSU a 40-32 lead at break.
Coming out of the break, the Bison would hit their first two shots of the second half from the three-point line. Jacksen Moni would add on a lay-up, but SDSU did a great job at matching the Bison, keeping the contest close at nine points. After a Matthew Mors made dunk to bring the game to within seven points around the 13-minute mark, Jacksen Moni went on a tear. The aforementioned Moni, would score the next 10 points for NDSU, spanning over a six-minute stretch. During this stretch however, the Jackrabbits did get some stops and strung together some baskets of their own, shrinking the NSDU lead to three points, with eight minutes to go.
After a timeout, Jacari White would nail a step-back three-pointer, to push the lead back to six. Just about two minutes later, Jacksen Moni would hit his fourth and final three-pointer, giving the Bison a nine-point lead again. The Jackrabbits would get the deficit to as close as four points, but weren’t able to eclipse the Bison, ending in a 77-68 NDSU victory. The win against SDSU secures a 20-win season for Coach Richman and the Bison. Their overall record sits at 20-9, 9-5 in Summit League Action.
Jacksen Moni lead NDSU once again in scoring with 28 points. The senior grabbed six rebounds as well. Tajavis Miller and Masen Miller also shot the ball well in the Victory, Mason Miller shot 4-7 from the three-point line, 5-8 overall, finishing with 14 points. Tajavis Miller finished with 15 points off the bench, shooting 5-7 overall, 2-4 from the three point line.
NDSU will take the trip up north on I-29 to Grand Forks Saturday, to face the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
*This article was written by Flag Family Media intern Cayden Lloyd*
