BROOKINGS, S.D. – North Dakota fell 96-61 to South Dakota State in Summit League men's basketball action inside Frost Arena on Thursday night.
Ethan Igbanugo led the Fighting Hawks (4-17, 0-8 SL) with a new career-high of 24 points, including a 7-for-7 performance at the charity stripe.
Brian Mathews was the only other UND player in double-digits with 10 points.
Matt Norman,
Tsotne Tsartsidze,
Bentiu Panoam,
Brady Danielson and
Paul Bruns all shared the team-lead on the glass with four rebounds apiece.
Reid Grant dished out a team-high three assists.
Douglas Wilson led five Jackrabbits (18-4, 9-0 SL) in double figures with 23 points and six rebounds. Baylor Scheierman and Luke Appel were next in scoring with 13 points each.
In the game, SDSU shot 57.8 from the field. Comparatively, UND went 36.1 percent and made eight shots from beyond the arc. SDSU held a 48-26 advantage in points in the paint, hit 12 triples and outrebounded the UND by a 39-30 margin. The Fighting Hawks hit 100.0 percent of its freebies, going 9-for-9 at the free throw line.
South Dakota State led wire-to-wire, opening the game on a 10-2 run and pushing its lead to 24-6 with 8:10 left in the opening period, following a 14-2 run.
North Dakota trimmed the deficit to 30-16 with back-to-back triples from Norman and Igbanugo. By intermission, the Jackrabbits led 41-21 with a 22-10 advantage in points in the paint, including 16 points from Wilson. Igbanugo was the leading scorer for the kelly green and white after the first 20-minute period with eight points, including going 3-of-3 at the line during the last scoring plays before the break.
The Jackrabbits went on a 9-0 run to go up 50-21 in the first 2:30 of the second half. South Dakota State increased its lead to 33 at 69-36 with 11:59 left in the game. In the game, SDSU pushed its lead to as many as 40 and finished 8-of-9 from the field in the final minutes to win 96-61.
North Dakota will continue its stay in the Mount Rushmore State with South Dakota on Saturday afternoon. The Fighting Hawks and Coyotes are scheduled for a 4 p.m. (CT) tip-off in Vermillion. The game will be available on GoYotes.com and on the air on the Home of Economy Radio Network.
