Jacari White tallied 27 points and Jacksen Moni scored eight of his 25 points in the final 2 1/2 minutes on Tuesday to help visiting North Dakota State upset Butler 71-68 in Indianapolis.
White netted 24 of his 27 points in the first half and finished 7 of 9 from 3-point range to go along with seven rebounds. Moni also grabbed seven boards, while Brennan Watkins dished six assists for the Bison (8-4) in their fifth straight win.
Pierre Brooks II led the Bulldogs (7-3) with 26 points and seven rebounds. Jahmyl Telfort bundled 23 points with six rebounds and four assists.
NDSU led by 21 points at halftime before the Bulldogs crawled back with three separate 7-0 runs to close within 60-57.
Butler finally regained the lead with a 10-0 surge, which included 3-pointers from Telfort, Patrick McCaffery and Brooks to boost the Bulldogs ahead 67-62 with 2:59 left. It was their first lead in the game since it was 7-6.
Moni took over from there, going on a personal 8-0 run over a 2:06 stretch to give NDSU a 70-67 lead with less than 30 seconds to play. He gave the Bison the lead for good at 68-67 on his fourth 3-pointer with 1:04 remaining.
Telfort knocked down a free throw with 12 seconds left to bring Butler within two before a jump ball gave the Bulldogs possession. Telfort went up for a layup but was blocked by Moni, and Tajavis Miller’s ensuing foul shot for the Bison closed the scoring.
A 13 1/2-point underdog, NDSU made 13 3-pointers to Butler’s seven and won despite losing the turnover battle 11-4.
The first half got away from Butler quickly. After scooting ahead 14-11, NDSU went on a 17-5 run and held a 31-16 edge at the under-8 timeout. The Bison grew their advantage, ending the first half on a 9-0 run that White capped with a 3-pointer for a 44-23 lead at the break.
White had a stellar first half. He made 9 of 10 shots from the floor and 6 of 7 3-pointers. Moni added 14 points for the Bison, while Brooks led Butler with eight points on 3-for-8 shooting.
The Bulldogs shot just 31 percent before halftime compared to NDSU’s 53.3 percent clip.
–Field Level Media
