FARGO, N.D. -- Wanjang Tut had a career scoring night and tied the game with 11 seconds to go, but a last-second shot lifted North Dakota State past Omaha, 71-69, Friday night at the Scheels Center.
 
Leaders for Omaha
Tut put together a career-high 31-point barrage to lead all scorers, finishing 14-of-19 from the floor while adding four rebounds and a block. Tut hit 7-of-10 for 17 points in the second half alone.
 
Marlon Ruffin added 15 points with a team-leading seven rebounds, an assist and a steal.
 
Ayo Akinwole chipped in nine points and a team-high five assists, and Matt Pile had six points and six caroms.
 
Leaders for North Dakota State
Sam Griesel, who hit the game-winner with eight-tenths of a second left, finished with 19 points. Rocky Kreuser matched him with 19 more and 12 rebounds for a double-double, and Tyree Eady put up 11 points and eight boards.
 
Team Stats
Omaha shot 48% (29-of-61) to NDSU's 50% (28-of-56). The Bison had a 33-30 rebounding advantage, while the Mavericks had the upper hand in points in the paint 48-42.
 
Inside the First Half
Omaha came out hot, hitting five of its first seven shots behind six early points from Tut. NDSU responded with a 10-0 run to go up 19-11.
 
Back-to-back buckets by Tut cut it to 19-15, but NDSU used a 21-4 spurt -- spurred on by seven points from Griesel -- to go up 30-15 with 4:22 left in the half.
 
By the midway point, Omaha had brought it back to a 10-point game, trailing 36-26.
 
Inside the Second Half
After being down by as many as 15 in the first half, a back-and-forth second half set the game up for an intense finish.
 
Newcomers Jadin Booth and Sam'i Roe stepped up to combined for a 6-0 run on two key steals and three buckets, which cut NDSU's lead to 50-48. The Bison then hit four of their next four shots to push back out to a 58-50 advantage, but Omaha again made it a three-point game at 58-55 after scores by Akinwole and Ruffin.
 
NDSU led 67-55 with 1:56 remaining, but an 8-0 run over the next 38 seconds pulled Omaha within four. After a pair of Akinwole free throws, Ruffin swiped a Bison pass and an ensuing tip-in from Tut cut it to 69-67 with 0:46 to play.
 
Tut then came up big again, backing down his defender and hitting a left-handed layup to knot the game at 69-69 with 0:11 on the clock. Following an Omaha timeout, Roe was all over Griesel, who managed to hit a mid-range jumper from the short corner as the final second ticked down, giving NDSU the win at 71-69.
 
Noting Tonight's Game
-Omaha is now 2-11 (0-3 Summit League) on the year, while NDSU improves to 5-6 (3-0 Summit League).
-Wanjang Tut's 31 points are Omaha's first 30-point scoring effort of the season.
 
Up Next
Omaha and North Dakota State conclude the weekend on Saturday, Jan. 9, with tipoff at 7:30 p.m. at the Scheels Center in Fargo, N.D. The game will be televised live on Midco and ESPN+, and Gary Sharp will have the radio call on 1290 KOIL. Links to live video, audio and stats will be available on OMavs.com.