In one last gasp NDSU breaks into the dance

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As a blizzard ravaged the Bison homeland and I sat home wondering if there was cable television anywhere, NDSU overcomes the Oakland Grizzlies 66-64 in the final minutes for the Summit League Championship and a berth into the NCAA Tournanment.
The history between these 2 teams certainly suggested an epic match-up but for the Bison it was mostly a catch up affair in Sioux Falls. They were down as many as 14 points at one point. The Herd only held the lead in the final minutes. I'm sure most Bison fans were biting their nails. Oakland kept Woodside and Winkelman mostly quiet. However, underclassman Michael Tveidt stepped up to aid his Bison brethern by scoring 21. Winkelman's double digit scoring streak ended, Brett finished with 9 points but he grabbed 8 rebounds to place himself as NDSU's #2 all time rebounder.
When I looked at the stats to discern how this game was won- other than by sure determination of the upper classmen (i.e. Ben Woodside's jumper with 3 seconds left)- it really come down to the bench. Sure all of Oakland's starters were in double digits but their bench scored only 3. The Bison scored like a dozen from the bench. Okay I also realize that good clock management in those final minutes also was key- right on Coach Phillips!
Who knows when this team will ever come home? The blizzard's force still smothers the Valley. The seniors have to be on cloud nine. A dream is realized for these guys that not many besides them were really banking. I've got to hand it to this team. I may not be the most ardent of Bison basketball fans but this is a good story. And okay I'm 2 degrees separated from most of the team through Segue, but that's another tale.

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