North Dakota State grabbed some needed momentum heading to next season when it defeated Summit League regular-season champion Oral Roberts 68-55 on March 1 in Fargo. It was the Bison's first victory over a top-tier team in the Summit League and it assured them a fourth-place finish in their first year in the conference with a 10-8 record.

Not bad, considering the Bison had their share of ups and downs in their final season of transitioning to NCAA Division I status.

The Oral Roberts victory was special because the Bison openly pointed to it as their "championship game" since they were not eligible for the Summit League tournament.

"Whatever the outcome of this game, we were going to feel that throughout the whole offseason all summer," said Bison junior forward Brett Winkelman. "We wanted to leave the fans, the coaching staff, the players and our families with a good feeling and know that we're capable come the postseason next year."

Oral Roberts was badly banged up and by the end of the game was missing three regulars, but that didn't dampen NDSU's enthusiasm.

"It's important for our guys for one big reason -- it validates what they've done this year," NDSU coach Saul Phillips said. "It wraps it all up in a nice little bow at the end of the season."

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