Dave Eggen/Inertia

Men's Basketball

No. 5 seed South Dakota storms back to defeat No. 4 seed NDSU, claim semifinal spot

The Basics
Score: No. 5 South Dakota 85, No. 4 North Dakota State 84  
Records: North Dakota State (21-10, 10-6 SL), South Dakota (18-13, 9-7 SL)
Location: Denny Sanford PREMIER Center - Sioux Falls, S.D.



SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – No. 5 seed South Dakota staged a late rally to earn an 85-84 win over No. 4 seed North Dakota State in quarterfinal action in the 2025 Summit League Men's Basketball Championship on Friday at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center. Senior Chase Forte scored a game-high 28 points with eighth of those coming in the final 3:41 as he helped the Coyotes erase a nine-point deficit during that stretch.

Trailing for most of the game, Forte and company never relented as he started a decisive 10-0 run with his only three-pointer of the game. Dre Bullock capped that spurt with his first field goal of the game, giving South Dakota a 79-78 lead with 1:33 to play.

Sixth Man of the Year Tajavis Miller scored a career-high 26 points, maintaining his role coming off the Bison bench despite his squad being down its top two scorers and all-league performers Jacksen Moni and Jacari White. His efforts kept the Bison in the lead for more than 36 minutes of game clock.

Issac Bruns helped seal the game for the Coyotes, sinking a pair of free throws to put the Coyotes up by four and cement his first career double-double. Bruns finished with 21 points and a career-high 10 rebounds.

The Coyotes missed their first nine attempts from 3-point range but made two during a 12-2 run late in the first half that gave South Dakota its first lead of the game 32-30. Miller and his crew had an answer though. He split up his point total in each half and he had the opening five of a 10-2 half-closing run that gave NDSU a 40-34 lead going into halftime.

Masen Miller and Andy Stefonowicz helped out Tajavis in the second half as those two each had 11 after the break. Masen hit five three-pointers in the contest and his fifth put the Bison ahead 62-54 midway through the second half.

The Bison lead would grow to as many as 11 before the Coyotes mounted the late comeback ignited by Forte. 

The Coyotes will play top-seeded Omaha in Saturday's first semifinal at 7 p.m. CT.
 
Turning Point
South Dakota came into the contest leading all Division I schools with 20 made free throws a game and the Coyotes' four makes from the charity stripe in the final 39 seconds proved to be the difference in this one. Those four makes gave them 21 conversions for the game.  

Inside the Box Score
  • With 11 three-pointers in the game, NDSU set the Summit League's single-season record for most makes with 380. The 2022-23 Oral Roberts team held the previous record of 375.
  • The Coyotes started 0-for-9 from 3-point range and finished 6-for-21, while NDSU made 11 of its 23 attempts.
  • Mayoum Buom scored a career-high 14 points in his final collegiate game for South Dakota.
  • Stefonowicz reached double figures for the first time in his collegiate career and also dished out a career-high six assists.
  • The Coyotes turned 15 NDSU turnovers into 18 points.
News & Notes
  • These teams met in the 2023 quarterfinals when the third-seeded Bison held on for a thrilling 70-68 victory over the sixth-seeded Coyotes.
  • The quarterfinal loss for the Bison is their second straight after the program had appeared in five consecutive title games, including wnining those in 2019 and 2020.
  • South Dakota is back in the semifinals for the first time since making back-to-back appearances in 2021 and 2022.
 
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