National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
North Dakota State 57, South Dakota State 56
When: 9:00 PM ET, Tuesday, March 10, 2015
Where: Sanford Pentagon, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Officials: # Kelly Pfeifer, # Lamont Simpson, # Paul Szelc
Attendance: 9033

North Dakota State 57, South Dakota State 56: Lawrence Alexander scored 17 of his 25 points in the second half as the Bison knocked off the Jackrabbits in the Summit League championship game in Sioux Falls, S.D.

Alexander went 6-of-9 from 3-point range for North Dakota State (23-9), which won its second straight Summit League title and will head to back-to-back NCAA Tournaments for the first time in school history. A.J. Jacobson added 12 points and eight rebounds for the Bison, who upset Oklahoma in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last year.

Cody Larson scored 19 points to lead South Dakota State (23-10), which shot 31.6 percent from the floor. Deondre Parks added 13 points but was off the mark at the buzzer for the Jackrabbits.

Alexander scored eight points in a 17-4 burst that left North Dakota State on top 51-42 with 6 1/2 minutes to play. The Bison were in front 57-49 after Alexander’s free throws before South Dakota State scored the next seven points, and North Dakota State missed the front end of a one-and-one twice but the Jackrabbits missed both opportunities to take the lead in the final 10 seconds.

Both team shot less than 31 percent from the field in the first half and went into the locker room knotted at 23. The Bison found their form first after the break and scored the first five points before South Dakota recovered and went in front 38-34 on George Marshall’s 3-pointer with 12 minutes to play.
Top Game Performances
 
North Dakota State   South Dakota State
Lawrence Alexander 25 Scoring Cody Larson 19
Paul Miller 3 Assists Jake Bittle 4
Kory Brown 8 Rebounds Reed Tellinghuisen 9
Lawrence Alexander 3 Free Throws Made Cody Larson 9
Lawrence Alexander 1 Steals George Marshall 2
Chris Kading 2 Blocks Reed Tellinghuisen 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
North Dakota State 57 38.5 8-23 9-16 9 40 5 2 11
South Dakota State 56 31.6 5-19 15-18 9 33 3 5 7