Bison upend Western Illinois at the BSA

Tonight was the first Bison men's basketball game I saw in almost a year. And both were pretty similar. NDSU won them by wide margins. NDSU had a tight first 5 minutes with the Leathernecks then strolled into some maximum 'leadage.' The final score 86-62. Ben Woodside put up a lot of baskets and of course Bison Brent did too. With his parents seated behind me, Brent Winkelman cooked up double double of 14 boards and 21 points. Woodside saw much benchtime in the 2nd half after he collected 4 fouls but came away with 20 points. There were a few times throughout the game in which the officials' calls were questionable but I never seem to know why.
The Bison seemed to be strong and a bit fast. With their long knee length trunks, I am tempted to compare them to Minnesota phenom Sam Jacobson but the comparison ends short. The Bison are a gritty physical team albeit with a calm demeanor. They punch their way to the basket but are just as capable of hitting from the field. What they lack is finesse and a dab of creativity. Woodside and Winkelman are clearly the best players, but there are some auxiliary teammates which fill in when needed-I make note of Mike Nelson and Marcus Moorman.
In the later part of the 2nd half NDSU let their game slip a bit. I'm not sure if it was fatigue or focus since they were up by 20. Bison Brent even missed 4 free throws during this run. I am not sure if he was paying tribute to the Shaq deal or just couldn't get the shots on.
Nevertheless it was a grand adventure amongst the 2000+ fans in attendance.
The added story to all this is that I got in free. My friend was going to use the 2 for 1 coupon (he did) and give me the ticket. However, I found a ticket on a magazine rack in the ticket booth area. I snatched it up and my friend sold the additional ticket for $6. He made out really good I suppose.