Bison prevail despite flu bug
The NDSU men’s basketball team now has another complaint for playing so many consecutive games on the road. Viruses spread throughout the team.
Playing just seven players, three of which who had the flu, the Bison edged Winston-Salem State 83-68 in front of 1,812 fans at the Bison Sports Arena on Wednesday.
“It is inevitable that something like this would go through a team,” NDSU coach Tim Miles said of his team’s health.
Winston-Salem fell to 5-22 on the year while NDSU improved to 17-8.
NDSU sophomore Lorenzo Riley was the only Bison to completely miss the game. Riley wasn’t well enough to make it to even watch, Miles said.
NDSU players Brett Winkelman, Ben Woodside and Austin Pennick all played, despite having the flu.
As a precaution, Miles added three players to his team’s roster before the game, including two football players.
Nick Mertens, the backup quarterback, and Jeremiah Wurzbacher, the starting tight end, both dressed for the game but did not play. Miles said that he contacted Athletic Director Gene Taylor, who got the OK from football coach Craig Bohl to allow Mertens and Wurzbacher to join the team.
“It’s just a safety measure,” Miles said.
The team also added former walk-on player Dotun Obadina. Obadina played in 53 games the past two seasons. In the 2004-05 season, he started nine games and averaged 4.4 points and 2 rebounds. Mertens, a redshirt freshman, hasn’t played basketball since high school, when he was a second-team all-state pick at East Grand Forks, Minn. Wurzbacher, a 6-foot-5 sophomore, was also a second-team all-state selection when he played for Fargo South High School.
Despite playing ill, Brett Winkelman led the Bison with 27 points and 11 rebounds.
“Winks played well,” NDSU senior Andre Smith said. “We got the win but it should have been a better performance by us.”
The Rams, who lost to NDSU earlier this season by 24 points, stayed close with NDSU in the first half, and trailed 30-28 at the end of the first half.
A 15-0 run, spanning over 4:57, midway through the second half sparked NDSU. However, the Rams, who won started the season 1-18, continued to score on the Bison and even cut the lead to 10 with 1:23 to play.
“Guys were scoring well, but defensively it wasn’t there for us,” said Smith, who scored 24 points.
NDSU redshirt freshman Sam Sussenguth, who’s playing time has increased over the season, finished with 4 points and 10 rebounds.
This was the first of a four-game season-ending homestand for NDSU. The Bison host SDSU on Saturday at 7 p.m. The Bison defeated the Jackrabbits 78-60 in Brookings earlier this season.
“SDSU will beat us by 20 if we play like this,” Miles said.