Jacari White posted another career-high performance, but it wasn’t enough to propel North Dakota State past Illinois State. The Redbirds closed out the game with a 9-0 run in the final two minutes, securing a 77-68 win over the Bison in nonconference Division I men’s basketball action at the Sanford Health Athletic Complex in Fargo, in front of 1,353 fans.
“We just lost focus,” White said after the game. “The mistakes we made really cost us.”
White scored a personal-best 27 points, including 23 in the second half, as the Bison attempted to rally from an 11-point halftime deficit. Earlier in the week, the senior guard had scored 22 points in a victory over the University of Jamestown for his previous career high.
“Jacari was great offensively in the second half,” said NDSU head coach David Richman. “But we need to improve on both ends of the floor.”
The game also marked the return of former Bison guard Boden Skunberg, who transferred to Illinois State in the offseason. Skunberg, who is from Jamestown, North Dakota, was sidelined by a foot injury and watched from the bench.
“I feel for Boden not being able to be out there,” Richman said. “I love that man and appreciate everything he did for me and our program.”
The Bison had tied the game at 66-66 after Jacksen Moni’s basket with 2:12 left in regulation, but the Redbirds responded with the next nine points. Ty Pence, who finished with 17 points, including 15 in the second half, sealed the win with two free throws for a 75-66 lead with 32 seconds to play.
“They came in here and you could tell that they were hungry,” Richman noted about the Redbirds.
White played a key role in the Bison’s second-half rally, scoring nine points in the first five minutes. He later hit a 3-pointer to give NDSU a 56-55 lead with just over 10 minutes remaining. At that point, White had scored 15 points in the second half and 19 for the game.
“It really helped the guys a lot,” said Bison guard Tajavis Miller. “It felt like we were all down at the time.”
However, that would be the only lead for NDSU in the second half, as they struggled to overcome the deficit built by the Redbirds in the first half.
“It was rough,” White admitted. “We had to endure that, keep defending as best as we could to stop their runs.”
Illinois State shot 54% (7-of-13) from beyond the arc in the first half, building an 11-point lead by halftime. Six different Redbirds made 3-pointers in the opening 20 minutes. NDSU, in contrast, struggled from long range, hitting just 26% (5-of-19) of its 3-pointers in the first half. The Bison led by as many as five points early before Illinois State took control. Miller led NDSU with eight points in the first half, including two 3-pointers, and finished with 10 points for the game.
Illinois State controlled most of the game, leading for nearly 34 of the 40 minutes, while NDSU only held the lead for three minutes.
“We’re still figuring things out,” Richman said. “We’re new together. We need to get more comfortable as a team.”
Box Scores:
Illinois State (1-1):
Walker 3-9 2-2 8, Banks 3-10 2-3 8, Wolf 1-4 0-0 3, Kinziger 6-11 6-6 20, Pence 7-11 3-3 17, Boser 1-3 0-0 3, Poindexter 3-5 0-0 7, Davis 1-2 0-0 3, Daugherty 0-1 0-0 0, Barnes 3-3 0-0 8.
Total: 28-59, 13-14 FT, 77 points.
NDSU (1-1):
Moni 4-12 0-0 9, Feddersen 2-5 0-0 4, Watkins 2-10 0-0 6, White 10-15 3-5 27, M. Miller 2-7 0-0 6, Burke 1-1 0-0 2, T. Miller 4-9 0-1 10, Kasubke 2-5 0-0 4, Stefonowicz 0-1 0-0 0, Dissette 0-1 0-0 0.
Total: 27-66, 3-6 FT, 68 points.
Half: ISU 42, NDSU 31.
3-point goals: ISU 8-20, NDSU 11-39.
Rebounds: ISU 40 (Walker 10), NDSU 31 (three players with 5).
Assists: ISU 11 (Banks 4), NDSU 12 (Moni 5).
Turnovers: ISU 5, NDSU 6.
