North Dakota State defeated Omaha 74-50 in the Summit League men’s basketball tournament semifinal on Saturday night in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The Bison opened the game with an 11-point run and maintained control throughout, never trailing.
Omaha, seeded fifth and last year’s tournament champion, ended its season with a 16-17 record. The Mavericks lost to North Dakota State three times this season. While previous games were close, Saturday’s contest saw NDSU hold a double-digit lead for most of the game.
The Mavericks struggled offensively against North Dakota State’s defense. Omaha averaged nearly 77 points per game during the season but was limited to just 30 percent shooting from the field and made only four of 26 attempts from three-point range. The team missed all ten of its three-point shots before halftime.
North Dakota State also dominated inside, outrebounding Omaha by a margin of 43-28 and outscoring them in the paint 36-16.
The Bison scored on their first three possessions and led 13-2 within four minutes. At that point, they had converted six of seven shots while forcing four turnovers from Omaha.
Omaha narrowed the gap to eight points after a basket by Kamryn Thomas midway through the first half but could not get closer for the remainder of the game. By halftime, North Dakota State led 40-25.
Paul Djobet helped Omaha cut into NDSU’s lead early in the second half by scoring seven points in two minutes to make it 43-32. However, another scoring drought followed as North Dakota State outscored Omaha 15-3 over nearly ten minutes.
Ja’Sean Glover led Omaha with 13 points—11 coming from free throws—and collected six rebounds. Djobet added eleven points; no other Maverick reached double figures.
Seniors Tony Osburn and Lance Waddles played their final games for Omaha. Osburn finished his career with 221 three-pointers made, while Waddles scored over one thousand career points.
Fans can follow updates about Omaha Men’s Basketball on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram at @OmahaMBB.
