Braun Ignites Bison in Second Half for 69-58 Quarterfinal Win Over Kansas City

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - Taylor Braun scored 24 of his season-high 27 points in the second half to lead No. 3 seed North Dakota State to a 69-58 win over sixth-seeded Kansas City in the Summit League men's basketball quarterfinals Sunday, March 10, before a crowd of 3,786 at Sioux Falls Arena.

Braun made 16 of 18 free throws - both career highs - and added seven rebounds and thre steals for the Bison (23-8), who won their first Summit League tournament game since the 2009 championship.

Marshall Bjorklund had 18 points and 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the year and Lawrence Alexander added 14 points.  Bjorklund was 9 of 14 as NDSU outscored UMKC 34-20 in the paint.

Trinity Hall scored a team-high 14 points for UMKC including a pair of free throws and a layup as the Kangaroos closed the first half on a 9-2 run for a 22-19 lead at the break.  NDSU had 11 first-half turnovers.

UMKC's biggest lead was 26-21 early in the second half before going scoreless for six minutes.  Braun scored his first two field goals of the game to spark a nine-point surge and the Bison extended that into a 24-5 run for their biggest lead of 45-31 at the 8:08 mark.

Kory Brown had a team-high four assists and TrayVonn Wright blocked four shots for NDSU to pass Jason Wenschlag for third place on the Bison single-season list with 57.

North Dakota State advances to play No. 2 seed Western Illinois (22-7) in the 8:30 p.m. semifinal Monday, March 11.  The Fighting Leathernecks beat No. 7 seed South Dakota 54-53 on Saturday.