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Thunderbirds Edged in Overtime

CEDAR CITY, Utah – Jan. 7 – North Dakota State came away with a 72-69 overtime win over Southern Utah Saturday night behind 29 points from sophomore guard Taylor Braun. The two teams needed an overtime period to determine a tightly contested matchup in which neither side held more than a four-point advantage throughout. SUU led by three with less than 90 seconds remaining in the extra period, but Braun scored six straight points to help NDSU come out on top.

Ramell Taylor helped the Thunderbirds start the game with 6-2 lead after getting out on the break for a towering dunk that he followed up with a 20-foot jumper to put SUU up by four. The Bison then battled back to knot the score at 11 as Marshall Bjorklund put in a lay-up to cap a 9-5 run for NDSU.

The two sides then went back-and-forth for the remainder of the half as the lead changed hands five times and neither team was able to build more than a four-point advantage. Both SUU and NDSU shot the ball well early in the game as the T-Birds converted 52 percent of their field goals while the Bison connected on 50 percent of their shots. Ray Jones Jr. led the Southern Utah offense at the break after scoring eight points and going 2-2 from the field.

The baskets didn't come nearly as easy for either team early in the second half as the Thunderbirds started the period 3-13 from the floor and the Bison hit just four of their first eleven attempts. Despite the limited scoring NDSU was able to come back and take a 44-42 edge halfway through the period.

The Bison clung to a slight advantage over the next five minutes until Ray Jones Jr. came up with a steal and ran the length of the court for a fast break lay-up that put SUU up by one at 54-53. A free throw from Braun and a jumper by TrayVonn Wright pushed NDSU back up by two with less than a minute to play. On the next play Tyson Koehler grabbed on offensive rebound off a missed shot and was fouled as he went to put the ball back up. He would convert both free throws to tie the score at 61 and send the game into overtime.

Southern Utah was able to gain a slight advantage in the extra session as baskets by Jones and Wade Collie put the T-Birds up 66-63 halfway through the overtime period. The Bison then came back to level the score with three shots from the free throw line. On the next SUU possession Damon Heiur sank a three pointer from the left side to break the tie and put the Thunderbirds out in front. Braun answered with six straight for North Dakota State to lift the visitors to the 72-69 victory.

“This is a game where our guys fought hard and one that I felt we deserved to win,” said SUU head coach Roger Reid. “We are playing really well right now against very good teams.”

The two teams were almost statistically even in the game as both shot just under 50 percent from the floor and were only separated by a single rebound. NDSU held the edge at the free throw line however where the Bison were 22-33 while SUU was finished just 17-28.

The SUU offense demonstrated a balanced scoring attack as four of five starters scored in the double figures. The Thunderbirds were led by Ray Jones Jr. who had 15 points and four steals in the contest.

“After struggling with fouls in the past couple of games it was nice to see Ray come back and be a factor,” commented Reid. “He had a very good game.”

With the loss Southern Utah is now 2-4 in the Summit League and 7-9 overall. North 
Dakota State improves to 4-2 in conference play and 11-4 on the season. The Thunderbirds will be back on the road next week as they travel to IUPUI and Western Illinois. SUU will tip things off against the Jaguars on Thursday at 7 p.m. (CT) and then meet up with the Leathernecks on Saturday at that same time.
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Players Mentioned

Ramell Taylor

#13 Ramell Taylor

SF
6' 5"
Senior
Wade Collie

#32 Wade Collie

SF
6' 6"
Junior
Tyson Koehler

#33 Tyson Koehler

PF
6' 8"
Senior

Players Mentioned

Ramell Taylor

#13 Ramell Taylor

6' 5"
Senior
SF
Wade Collie

#32 Wade Collie

6' 6"
Junior
SF
Tyson Koehler

#33 Tyson Koehler

6' 8"
Senior
PF