Nine days earlier, North Dakota State made one of 20 three-point attempts. The result was an embarrassing 18-point loss on its home floor against rival UND.
Nine days later, NDSU made the perimeter shots, played with poise, took a big crowd out of the game and left the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center on Friday night with a convincing 87-70 win over UND before 2,428 fans.
The tables were completely turned from the teams’ earlier meeting. UND was the team that struggled from the from the perimeter and from the free-throw line.
Also the Bison relied on balanced scoring -- unlike nine days ago. Five Bison players landed in double figures, led by Paul Miller’s 22 points. A.J. Jacobson added 18.
“We just couldn’t get over the hump,” said UND coach Brian Jones.
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NDSU got over the hump with a surge in the final eight minutes of the first half.
UND led 19-15 before the Bison started to find their shooting rhythm. NDSU hit five 3-pointers in the final 8:48 of the half, which helped the Bison grab a 38-33 halftime lead.
NDSU never let UND back into the game after that spurt.
“We just wanted to come out and make up for what happened last week,” said Miller, who was held scoreless in the first meeting. “We probably played as poorly as we could in that game.”
The Bison, he said, went back to work after that loss, putting up shot after shot in practice.
“We had a week of prep time after the first game, and we had guys getting in the gym and getting shots up. I was in there a couple of times and there already were guys in the gym putting up shots.”
The Bison finished 30 of 57 from the field and went 9-of-20 from 3-point range. UND, meanwhile, went 25 of 56 from the field (44.6 percent) and were 16 of 30 from the line.
A lot UND misses came from close range as the Bison half-court defense was solid throughout.
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Conner Avants led UND with 22 points. Quinton Hooker added 15 points as did Cortez Seales.
“This was a great bounce-back win for us,” said NDSU coach Dave Richman. “The lesson we learned is that you have to show up every game and compete, especially against good teams.”
The Bison spurt to close the first half was a big factor, said Richman.
“Paul got going a little bit and that’s contagious when other guys see the ball going through the net,” said Richman. “We have high-level shooters who can score. We had been in a little bit of a funk but that happens sometimes with a young team.”
It was a long night for UND in many areas.
"We strayed away from what we did last week,” said Jones. “We got away from who we have been up until this point defensively. We didn't guard individually and we didn't guard collectively and that really showed.
“I also didn't think we had great shot selection tonight. I thought NDSU came out with of urgency and this is a good lesson to learn. You have to be humble in your winnings and when you play a quality opponent you cannot think that you can win by just showing up. This is a great lesson for our guys to learn."
Tempers flared at the end of the game as there was pushing and shoving under the UND basket with 18.4 seconds remaining after UND’s Quinton Hooker drove to the basket.
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UND’s Drick Bernstine was called for a foul before officials went to the video monitor to review the pushing and shoving.
After a lengthy review at the monitor by officials, Bernstine and Geno Crandall were ejected. NDSU’s Khy Kabellis also was ejected.
The teams played out the final 18.4 seconds without any more incidents.
