{"id":298251,"date":"2026-03-10T08:39:45","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T13:39:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/?p=298251"},"modified":"2026-03-10T08:39:46","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T13:39:46","slug":"und-basketball-falls-to-ndsu-in-summit-league-champ","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/csinewsnow.com\/?p=298251","title":{"rendered":"UND Basketball Falls to NDSU in Summit League Champ"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Souix Falls SD (UND) – The No. 3 North Dakota men’s basketball team came up just short in the Summit League Tournament Championship, falling to No. 1 North Dakota State, 70-62 on Sunday night from the Denny Sanford Premier Center. UND concludes the season at 18-17 and North Dakota State improves to 27-7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

UND trailed 63-50 with 3:23 left and rallied with a 9-0 run in the next 1:49, to cut the NDSU lead to just four with 1:34 to play. The dagger came on the next Bison possession, as UND forced a miss, but was unable to grab the rebound. This resulted in a second chance for the Bison, allowing Noah Feddersen to hit a straight-away three with 51.6 seconds left, to make it a 66-59 game. The Hawks lost the second chance point battle, 12-3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the 10th straight game, North Dakota was led by Greyson Uelmen<\/a><\/dfn>, who continued his heroic tournament, totaling 24 points on 7-of-11 shooting, with four assists and four rebounds. The redshirt freshman logged 93 points across three games this weekend, good 41 more points than the next highest player (Damari Wheeler-Thomas, 52 points). Uelmen shot the ball at an outrageous 70.7% clip from the field this tournament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zach Kraft<\/a><\/dfn> stepped up for UND, recording 19 points on 5-of-9 from the field and 4-for-8 from deep. Eli King<\/a><\/dfn> played all 40 minutes in the final game of his UND career, posting nine points, five rebounds, two assists and three blocks in the contest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First Half<\/strong>
Like the Hawks have done in their previous two meetings with the Bison this season, they jumped out to an early lead over NDSU, claiming a 7-2 advantage early on, via four points from Uelmen and three from King.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bison punched back with a 13-2 run of their own, leading 15-9 at the 11:41 point. The squads remained close, with NDSU leading 21-14, when the Hawks bursted on an 11-2 run, capped off by an Uelmen three-point play, to take a 25-23 lead with 6:41 to play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NDSU responded with a 7-0 run, to jump back in front, 30-25, but the Hawks kept their ground. Anthony Smith lll converted on a tough up-and-under layup, which was followed by a three-pointer from Reggie Thomas<\/a><\/dfn>, evening the game at 30-30 with 2:27 to play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Hawks ended the half poorly, conceding an 8-0 run to NDSU, capped off by a Tay Smith three-pointer with eight seconds remaining, giving the Bison a 38-30 lead going into halftime. Uelmen led the way with 14 points on 5-of-5 shooting<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second Half<\/strong>
Scoring did not come at a premium for a good chunk of the second half, as UND struggled to capitalize on opportunities to cut into the lead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While a Garrett Anderson<\/a><\/dfn> layup with 16:06 to play cut the NDSU advantage to 41-36, the Hawks went scoreless for 3:16 of gametime, allowing the Bison to hop back in front, 46-36 with 13:05 left.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

UND clawed for a good portion of the final 20 minutes, trailing 56-44 with 6:38 left, before Kraft was fouled on a three-point attempt on back-to-back possessions, where he hit 5-of-6 free throws, while stopping the clock. NoDak trailed 56-49 with 5:59 to play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the next NDSU possession, Wheeler-Thomas missed a three-pointer, grabbed his own rebound and relocated to the left corner, where he drilled the second chance three-ball and was fouled by Uelmen, shifting momentum right back to the Bison. He would miss the free throw, as NDSU held a 59-49 lead with 5:26 to play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When UND trailed 63-50 with 3:23 to play, the Hawks 9-0 run was composed of a Kraft triple, four Uelmen free throws and a layup by Kraft, cutting it to a 63-59 ball game. Following the Feddersen second chance three-pointer, Anderson had a great look from the left corner to respond, but was unable to convert. NoDak would fall, 70-62.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Uelmen and King were named to the Summit League All-Tournament Team, as Wheeler-Thomas earned the tournament MVP. Below is the full Summit League All-Tournament Team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2026 Summit League All-Tournament Team<\/strong>
Damari Wheeler-Thomas, NDSU (MVP)
Noah Feddersen, NDSU
Greyson Uelmen<\/a><\/dfn>, North Dakota
Eli King<\/a><\/dfn>, North Dakota<\/em><\/strong>
Nolan Minessale, St. Thomas<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Postgame Notes<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n