Press Conference: North Dakota State | Kansas City 

The Basics
Score: No. 3 North Dakota State 69, No. 6 Kansas City 65
Records: North Dakota State (14-11) | Kansas City (11-13)
Location: The Sanford Pentagon - Sioux Falls, S.D.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Third-seeded North Dakota State escaped with a 69-65 victory over sixth-seeded Kansas City in Sunday's second Summit League Men's Basketball Championship quarterfinal at the Sanford Pentagon. 

The Bison opened their two-time title defense with a 13-4 run and led by as many as 22 in the second half but before they could secure their fourth consecutive trip to the semifinals, NDSU had to hold off a fierce comeback attempt by the Roos.

Senior Rocky Kreuser scored 14 of his team-high 16 points in the first half and capped a 9-0 run to close it by scoring five points in the final 30 seconds. 

First, he threw down a dunk, then finishied a steal with an and-one that made it a 38-22 Bison advantage at the break.
 

The Bison appeared to be in cruise control following a Grant Nelson dunk that put his team ahead 52-30 at the 14:15 mark, but it was anything but smooth sailing from there. The Roos reeled off a 16-3 run that got them back within single digits for the first time after the break and they did not stop there.

Allick sparked the late surge and scored 15 consecutive points for the Roos at one point to make things interesting. Marvin Nesbitt, Jr., was able to get Kansas City within a pair thanks to a short turnaround jumper with 49 seconds to play. The Bison would turn the ball over on their next possession, providing a chance for the Roos to tie or take the lead, but Brandon McKissic's driving layup was off the mark and NDSU would survive after Tyree Eady iced the game with a pair of free throw in the final second.

Allick led all scorers with 23 points, while McKissic chipped in with 13 and Nesbitt, Jr., added 11.

Kreuser was joined in double figures by Eady and Jarius Cook, who both finished with 15 points. Cook had 10 of his final tally in the opening half. 
 
The Bison will take on No. 2 South Dakota in Monday's second semifinal at 8:45 p.m. CT.

Turning Point
A seemingly harmless dunk by Grant Nelson pushed NDSU's lead to its peak at 22 points, but that would prove pivotal as the Roos would trim 20 points off that deficit before coming up just short in their comeback attempt

Inside the Box Score

• NDSU went 6-for-15 from 3-point range while holding Kansas City to a 3-for-16 effort
• Allick finished with 23 points, matching his season-high against a Division I opponent, and added 10 rebounds to post his fifth double-double of the season 
• The Bison won the battle on the boards 39-31 with Eady leading those efforts with nine
• Kansas City's only lead of the contest was 4-2 at the 16:32 mark
• The Roos shot just 30 percent from the field in the first half, but were 16-for-28 in the second half (57.1) 

News & Notes 

• NDSU made it where the top four seeds all advanced to the tournament semifinals for the first time since 2014
• All three games between the Bison and Roos were decided four points or less -- both of NDSU's wins were by four points
• The Bison are making their fourth consecutive trip to the tournament semifinals and have won the last two titles (2019 and 2020)
• South Dakota and North Dakota State split their regular season series played last weekend in Vermillion

Follow The Summit League
SOCIAL: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram|
JOIN THE CONVERSATION: #ReachTheSummit | #SummitMBB