by GRAND FORKS, N.D. – Garrett Anderson’s go-ahead three-pointer with 17 seconds left in overtime, led the North Dakota men’s basketball team to a 90-87 win over South Dakota State on Saturday afternoon from Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. UND improves to 8-10 overall and 2-0 in Summit League play, while the Jackrabbits drop to 8-9 overall and 1-1 in the conference.
North Dakota has won three consecutive games overall and it was the third straight win over the Jackrabbits. They are 2-0 in conference play for the first time since 2019-20.
It was an unbelievable game, that featured 11 ties and 11 lead changes, including four lead changes in the overtime session alone.
South Dakota State took an 87-85 lead late, following a Jaden Jackson left-handed layup in the lane with 35 seconds left. North Dakota did not call a timeout, as Greyson Uelmen brought the ball up the court and fed it to Eli King on the right-wing, who took one dribble and fired a pass to Anderson on the left-wing. With no hesitation, the senior rose up into his jump shot and rattled home the game-winning three.
Five Hawks scored in double figures, led by Uelmen with 17. Anthony Smith lll (16) and Wylee Delorme (12) combined for 28 of the teams 39 bench points, while Zach Kraft (14) and Eli King (12) round out the five in double digits.
North Dakota won the rebounding battle 38-32, led by Delorme, who came down with six. The Hawks dished out 16 assists and shot 12-for-35 from deep, as Smith lll led the way with five assists and Kraft connected on a team-high four triples.
It was an exciting first half, as the two teams combined to shoot 33-of-55 from the field and 16-for-27 from deep. UND jumped out to a 9-5 advantage early on, courtesy of two three pointers from Kraft and one from Uelmen.
The Jackrabbits upped the intensity a bit, going on an 11-0 run over the next 3:33, to take a 16-9 lead over the Hawks with 14:11 remaining.
UND fell behind by as many as nine in the first half, trailing 24-15 at the 11:19 mark. The offense clicked from that point, going on a 19-6 run over the next 6:20, courtesy of eight points from Smith lll, three each from Anderson, Delorme and King, along with two from Uelmen. A Smith lll made triple at the 6:59 mark forced a Jackrabbits timeout, as NoDak led 34-30.
The teams continued to go blow-for-blow, with the score even at 45-45 with 1:01 to play in the half. A Kraft solo 5-0 run to end the half, gave UND a 50-45 halftime lead. North Dakota shot 9-of-14 from deep in the first 20 minutes, with six different players making one. Smith lll was a +12 in the first half.
The scoring began to slow down in the second half, as UND held a lead by as many as nine in the frame. SDSU hit its first three of the half to make it a 50-48 ball game, but UND remained composed, going on an 8-1 run, to take the 58-49 lead at the 15:51 media timeout.
SDSU got the Hawks lead down to 62-59, but a 6-2 burst from NoDak, concluded by a Smith lll three-point play, made it 68-61 at the 10:48 mark.
Smith lll scored a scoop layup with 7:21 to play, to give UND a 71-68 lead. Delorme then went 1-for-2 from the line at the 5:27 mark to make it 72-68.
From there, UND went on a field goal drought of 4:49 seconds, as the Jackrabbits took their first lead since the 7:49 mark in the first half, going up 74-72. A Natsvlishvili made basket with 2:32 to play, coming off of two team offensive rebounds, tied the contest at 74-74.
With under two minutes left, Uelmen connected on two free throws to recapture the lead at 76-74. Following a turnover from each team, SDSU had the ball and regained the lead, thanks to a three-point play from Damon Wilkinson with 56 seconds left to go up 77-76.
North Dakota answered back, as Uelmen found Kraft in the left corner, where he hit his fourth triple of the game with 47 seconds left, to put UND up 79-77.
SDSU tied it at 79-79, following a missed jumpshot in the paint and a missed corner three, where Wilkinson grabbed the second miss and put in the layup with 20 seconds left to even the score.
The Hawks had a chance to win it in regulation, with the ball in Smith lll’s hands. The freshman had the ball up-top in an isolation situation on Jackson, where the freshman created separation for a good look from three, but the shot did not fall. The game headed to overtime.
SDSU struck first in the extra five minutes, at the 3:45 point, but an Uelmen floater in the lane tied it at 81-81 with 3:15 to play.
Joe Sayler scored for the Jackrabbits on the next possession to go up 83-81. On the next Hawks possession, Anderson missed a three-pointer, but Josh Jones grabbed the offensive rebound. He found a cutting King who was fouled. King made both free throws, to even it at 83-83 with 2:26 to play.
Following a Jackrabbits miss, North Dakota gained its first lead of the overtime, as King found Natsvlishvili off a slip screen, where he finished at the rim to make it 85-83 with 1:56 to play.
Following two made free throws from Matthew Mors and a basket in the paint from Jackson, SDSU took an 87-85 lead with 35 seconds left. Anderson connected on the clutch, deep triple with 17 seconds left to make it 88-87.
In need of a stop on defense, the Fighting Hawks got it. Jackson missed the shot in the paint and Uelmen secured the defensive rebound. He concluded his 8-for-8 day from the free-throw line with two huge free throws, to make it 90-87 with 8.0 seconds remaining.
UND decided not to foul SDSU up three and it paid off. Reggie Thomas secured a steal off a turnover from Wilkinson to give the Fighting Hawks a huge conference win. North Dakota improved to 2-0 in Summit League play, outlasting the Jackrabbits 90-87.
