North Dakota State again proved its class, the regular-season champions besting No. 3 seed North Dakota 70-62 in the Men’s Basketball Championship tournament title game Sunday at the Denny Sanford Premier Center.
With the win, the Bison advanced to the NCAA Division I tournament for the first time since 2020. They’ll find out their first-round opponent and site on March 15.
Guard Damari Wheeler-Thomas (6'0''-G) paced the Bison with 19 points and six rebounds, while reserve Tay Smith (6'3''-G) added 13 points and Andy Stefonowicz 11.
The Bison broke the school record for wins in a season with their 27th.
The first half was back-and-forth. UND started fast to the tune of a 7-2 edge and NDSU answered with a 13-2 burst. The Bison scored the last eight points to carry a 38-30 edge into halftime. They made seven 3-pointers in the first half - four by Smith.
From there, it was a slow burn. NDSU edged the margin to 13 with 3:15 remaining.
The Hawks scored nine in a row to get within 63-59 with 90 seconds left on a pair of free throws by guard Greyson Uelmen then fell off the pace. Uelmen finished with 24 points to cap a prolific tournament. The redshirt freshman put up 41 points in the quarterfinals and 28 in the semis.
Guard Zach Kraft (6'3''-G) added 19 points with four 3-pointers in the title game for UND.
This was a rematch of the 2020 Summit tournament championship game where NDSU prevailed 89-53. The Fighting Hawk were seeking their first Summit tourney title.

Turning Point
With the scored tied 30-30, the Bison scored the last eight points of the opening half to reclaim the lead for good. Wheeler-Thomas and Smith sandwiched an alley-oop layup from Markhi Strickland over the final 2:10.

Inside the Box Score
The Bison won on the boards with a 41-33 edge in rebounds, including 12 on the offensive glass that led to a decisive 12-3 advantage in second-chance points.
Wheeler-Thomas led the Bison with 19 points and ran his double-digit scoring streak to nine in a row as the Bison won their first tournament title since defeating these same Fighting Hawks in 2020 and sixth overall since joining the Division I ranks.
Smith hit 4-of-5 from deep in the opening half to help stake the Bison to a 38-30 lead at the break.
News & Notes
This was NDSU's 10th appearance in the title game in the past 14 seasons.
NDSU’s Stefonowicz and UND’s Uelmen were high school classmates. They helped Minnetonka win the Minnesota Class 4A state championship in 2024.
This was the third time the Fighting Hawks have been the No. 3 seed in Sioux Falls since joining the Summit League prior to the 2018-19 season the run to the title game was their second overall and furthest advancement from the 3-line. The program's previous title-game appearance came as the No. 6 seed in 2020.

Final:
North Dakota State - North Dakota 70-62

Semis:
North Dakota State - Omaha 74-50
St. Thomas - North Dakota 66-67

Courtesy of thesummitleague.org