Bison Advance To Round Of 64

The Bison were hot in the first half, but North Carolina Central made a comeback late, but fell short 78-74 Tuesday in the First Four round of the NCAA Division 1 Men’s Basketball Tournament.

Tyson Ward hit two shots inside the paint in the closing seconds of the opening half, with Sam Griesel sandwiching a layup in between.

The Bison had a 40-34 lead heading into the second half.

Vinnie Shahid extended the second half lead to 49-36.

Then, North Carolina Central went on a 9-0 run to cut the lead to 49-45 with 13:41 left. Raasean Davis pulled North Carolina Central to within three points with 11:30 left.

The teams exchanged points until under eight minutes left, when Larry McKnight Jr. tied the game 58-58. The teams then extended leads, but Sam Griesel tied the game with 3:50 left.

Seven points by Ward, in the final 2:32, sealed the win for NDSU.

Ward finished the game with 23 points and six rebounds, followed by Shahid with 14 and Griesel and Jared Samuelson with 10 points.

The Bison will now take on Duke on Friday at 7 p.m. Eastern (6 p.m. Central) in Columbia, S.C. The game will air on CBS.

When asked what he tells his team about this experience, Richman says, “Stay in the moment.”