St. Thomas men’s basketball breaks Bison’s 8-game winning streak – InForum

FARGO – It’s no secret that every Summit League men’s basketball game will be tough.

The state of North Dakota was reminded of this on Thursday.

Riding an eight-game winning streak into the conference opener, the red-hot Bison were stopped by St. Thomas, which used 63% shooting in the second half to solidify an 89-85 victory at the Scheels Center.

010325.S.FF.Bison.MBB.St.Thomas.5 — North Dakota State’s Brennan Watkins passes the ball to a teammate against St. Thomas’ Ryan Lafferty and Miles Barnstable on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2024, at the Scheels Center at the Sanford Health Athletic Complex in Fargo.

NDSU led 78-76 with three minutes left before the Tommies finished the game on a 13-7 run, with Drake Dobbs scoring 10 of those points.

The run included consecutive 3-pointers by Dobbs, the first coming with 2:27 left to put the Tommies up 79-78 before another with 1:22 left gave UST an 82-79 lead after a shot free from NDSU.

The fifth-year guard from UST finished with 18 points to follow Miles Barnstable’s 20 for the Tommies, who improved to 11-5 overall and 1-0 in league.

“That’s what good players do in big, crucial moments,” Bison head coach Dave Richman said of Dobbs. “I don’t remember, even during the best of the game, making any of those. And then he made some real, tough ones down the stretch. Kudos to him.”

010325.S.FF.Bison.MBB.St.Thomas.9 — St. Thomas’ Carter Bjerke (32), Nolan Minessale (4) and Miles Barnstable (14) celebrate an 89-85 victory over North Dakota State on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2024, at the Scheels Center at the Sanford Health Athletic Complex . in Fargo.

The Bison were led by Jacksen Moni’s 25-point night, which included 4-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc. Three other NDSU players finished in double figures: Brennan Watkins with 18, Noah Feddersen with 14 and Jacari White with 12.

NDSU is also now 11-5 and 0-1 in the Summit after suffering its first setback since Nov. 26.

“It’s a fine line you try to walk as a coach to understand the rhythm we had right before the break and not try to make too much of it,” Richman said. “But in the same sense, things have been too easy for us and that is the reality.

“As a staff, we knew St. Thomas was good. They have veterans, they made big shots down the stretch. St. Thomas is better than us here on Jan. 2. We’ll see how we progress as we go through January, February and finally March.”

010325.S.FF.Bison.MBB.St.Thomas.4 — North Dakota State’s Noah Feddersen faces St. Thomas’ Carter Bjerke on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2024, at the Scheels Center at the Sanford Health Athletic Complex in Fargo.

NDSU trailed 41-39 at halftime after trailing by as many as 12 points in the first 20 minutes.

“We weren’t good enough from the beginning,” Richman said. “We have to get better (Friday) in practice and we have another chance to learn and improve on Saturday.”

UST finished the game 31 of 57 (54.4%) from the field, while NDSU was 26 of 61 (42.6%).

The Bison entered Thursday as one of the

best 3 point shooting equipment

averaging 12.2 triples per game. NDSU hit that mark again, shooting 13 of 32 from distance. Only the Tommies were slightly better in that category, making 15 of 32 3-pointers, including four from Dobbs.

Moni finished with four assists and two blocks to round out his 25 points in the senior forward’s first taste of Summit League action after the West Fargo Sheyenne product transferred from Division II Northern State.

“It was my first Summit League game here and I felt like St. Thomas was ready to play,” Moni said. “Ultimately, they wanted it more than we did and that’s how it was (tonight).”

010325.S.FF.Bison.MBB.St.Thomas.3 — North Dakota State’s Jacksen Moni looks to pass to a teammate against St. Thomas’ Carter Bjerke and Drake Dobbs on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2024, at the Scheels Center at the Sanford Health Athletic Complex in Fargo.

The Bison collected 40 rebounds to the Tommies’ 25. Feddersen had a game-high nine rebounds for NDSU.

NDSU returns to action against Nebraska Omaha (7-9, 1-0 Summit) at 1 p.m. on Saturday, January 4 at the Scheels Center.

“I think for us, it’s just about sticking to our principles and our habits,” Moni said. “I talk all the time about having that next-game mentality and I think that’s what we have to do moving forward.”

010325.S.FF.Bison.MBB.St.Thomas.2 — North Dakota State’s Noah Feddersen shoots the ball against St. Thomas’ Nolan Minessale on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2024, at the Scheels Center at the Sanford Health Athletic Complex in Fargo.

UST (11-5): Byhre 1-1 0-0 3, Blue 5-11 1-4 15, Minessale 4-8 0-0 8, Dobbs 5-8 4-4 18, Barnstable 6-11 5-7 20, Nau 4-7 0-0 9, Bjerke 3-7 0-1 8, Dufault 3-4 0-0 6, Oosterbaan 0-0 2-2 2, Lafferty 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 31-57 12-18 89.

NDSU (11-5): Moni 8-14 5-5 25, Feddersen 5-10 2-2 14, Watkins 6-10 2-2 18, White 2-13 7-8 12, M. Miller 2-4 0 -0 5, Stefonowicz 0-1 0-0 0, T. Miller 2-6 4-7 9, Kasubke 0-1 0-0 0, Disete 1-2 0-0 2. Totals: 26-61 20-24 85.

Halftime: UST 41, NDSU 39. Total fouls: UST 22, NDSU 17. Elimination due to fouls: None. Rebounds: UST 25 (Minessale, Dufault 4); NDSU 40 (Feddersen 9). Three-point goals: UST 15-32 (Byhre 1-1, Blue 4-7, Dobbs 4-5, Barnstable 3-8, Nau 1-4, Bjerke 2-6, Minessale 0-1); NDSU 13-32 (Moni 4-6, Feddersen 2-5, Watkins 4-7, White 1-6, M. Miller 1-3, Stefonowicz 0-1, T. Miller 1-3, Kasubke 0-1). Assists: UST 11 (Minessale 5); NDSU 14 (Moni, Watkins 4). Turnovers: UST 4 (Byhre, Blue, Dufault 1); NDSU 10 (Moni 5). A-1,492.