Athletics & Recreation

Men’s basketball falls to North Dakota State in Summit League Semifinals

The University of Denver men’s basketball team fell 83-48 to No. 1 seed North Dakota State in The Summit League Championship Semifinal at Sioux Falls Arena on Monday night.

Senior Chris Udofia had 12 points and six rebounds for the Pioneers, ending his career with 1,501 points, 603 rebounds, 349 assists and 141 steals, as well as claiming DU’s career records in blocked shots (256) and games played (124).

Junior Cam Griffin scored 13 points, and sophomore Bryant Rucker added 11 points for Denver.

“I think we just ran into a buzz saw tonight,” head coach Joe Scott said. “The first half, North Dakota State played really well. We couldn’t make a shot and they made every shot. They’re the veteran team. They’ve been here before. [Summit League Player of the Year Taylor] Braun was the player of the year, and he played like that today.”

The Bison, led by 28 points from Braun, had a hot shooting hand throughout the game, hitting 62.5 percent of their shots from the field and 66.7 percent from three-point range.

The Pioneers struggled out of the gate, going just 6-of-20 from the field and 0-of-6 from three-point range in the first half, while the Bison were on fire at 17-of-23 from the floor and 5-of-7 from beyond the arc. NDSU took a 42-15 lead into halftime.

The Bison picked up in the second half right where they left off, scoring six quick points to increase the lead to 48-15 with 17:24 remaining.

North Dakota State will take on the winner of the semifinal between South Dakota State and Fort Wayne in the championship game at 7 p.m. MDT today. The winner of The Summit League Championship will earn an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.

 

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