SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The North Dakota State men's basketball team won the Summit League Tournament title with a 70-62 victory over No. 3 seed North Dakota on Sunday night.
Showing posts with label north dakota state. Show all posts
Showing posts with label north dakota state. Show all posts
North Dakota State: 2024 NCAA Division I FCS National Champions
North Dakota State took down undefeated Montana State, 35-32, in the FCS national championship. This is the Bison’s 10th title since 2011 and their first since 2021.
NDSU led 21-3 at the half, holding the high-powered Bobcat offense to a little over 100 yards in the first 30 minutes. However, Walter Payton Award-winning quarterback, Tommy Mellot, pulled Montana State back within three by the end of the third quarter with a handful of explosive plays.
A 66-yard, five-minute drive sealed the game for the Bison late in the fourth, giving the ball back to the Bobcats with under three minutes to play down 10. Mellot found Taco Dowler on 4th and 2 to cut the lead to three with a little over a minute to play, but MSU did not recover the ensuing onside kick, sealing the game.
Standout wide receiver Bryce Lance powered the NDSU offense, hauling in nine catches for a career-high 108 yards, including a remarkable 39-yard catch that set up a touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Bison quarterback Cam Miller played a remarkably clean game, connecting on 19 of 22 passes for 200 yards and two touchdowns. Miller has now won his second FCS championship after leading NDSU to a title in 2021, also over Montana State.
The North Dakota State defense held the Bobcats over 100 yards under their 301-yard rushing total per game, as MSU finished with 199 on the ground.
The Bison are once again on top of the FCS, spoiling Montana State’s perfect season and bringing yet another title back to Fargo, North Dakota.
North Dakota State: 2021 NCAA Division I FCS National Champions
North Dakota State made it look easy against Montana State.
The Bison won their ninth FCS title in 11 years on Saturday in a 38-10 win over the Bobcats in Frisco, Texas. North Dakota State scored the first 35 points of the game and had a 28-0 lead at halftime.
NDSU (14-1) just ran all over Montana State's defense. The Bison averaged over seven yards a carry and rushed for over 300 yards as three different players ran for over 75 yards. Kobe Johnson had a 76-yard TD run and Hunter Luepke rushed for three first-half touchdowns as Montana State found itself helpless to mount a comeback attempt in the second half.
The Bobcats’ chances took a huge hit on the first drive of the game. QB Tommy Mellott injured his right ankle on the first drive and was unable to play the rest of the way. Mellott emerged as Montana State’s starter at the beginning of the playoffs and his rushing ability powered the Bobcats to the title game.
Mellott was replaced by Tucker Rovig, who ended up averaging more yards per rushing attempt than he did per passing attempt.
NDSU QB Cam Miller had to throw just 13 passes thanks to the excellence of the ground game. Miller was 9-of-13 passing for 126 yards and a TD.
North Dakota State played 24 games in 11 months
North Dakota State’s nine titles since the 2010 season have come in nine title games. The Bison are undefeated in Frisco — they were knocked out before the title game in 2020 and 2016.
That 2020 season was severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Many teams in the division pushed their seasons to the spring; North Dakota State went 7-3 in that 2020-21 season. The Bison played one game in the fall before playing a full season from February to early May. The 2020 season ended in May of 2021 with a loss to eventual champion Sam Houston State.
That spring season means that North Dakota state played 24 games from Feb. 21 to Saturday. Coach Matt Entz referenced the duration of that long season in his postgame interview as numerous players on the team played in all 24 of those games in a single calendar year.
The title is Entz’s second in three seasons with the school. He replaced Kansas State coach Chris Klieman ahead of the 2019 season. Klieman won four titles with North Dakota State after taking over for Wyoming coach Craig Bohl after the 2013 season. Bohl was in charge for the first three titles in school history.
North Dakota State: 2019 NCAA Division I FCS National Champions
FRISCO, Texas — North Dakota State football is the FCS national champion for a record eighth time after defeating James Madison 28-20 to close out the 2019-20 season.
The Bison made history in Frisco, becoming the first modern-era DI college football program to go 16-0 in a single season. Only 1894 Yale shares that honor.
North Dakota State led 28-13 following a 44-yard touchdown run by quarterback Trey Lance to open the fourth quarter. But James Madison battled back with a Riley Stapleton touchdown catch (his second of the game) and a final drive to NDSU's 5-yard line.
But NDSU safety James Hendricks clinched the win with an interception on Ben DiNucci's pass to the end zone with seven seconds left. Hendricks finished with eight tackles, an interception and a first-half touchdown run on a fake field goal.
Lance finished the game with 166 rushing yards and a touchdown on 30 attempts. He was only asked to throw 10 times (6-of-10, 72 yards) on a blustery day in Frisco, Texas. Lance, the first freshman to win the Walter Payton Award, finished 2019-20 without a single interception.
Notable Stats
Trey Lance, QB, NDSU: 6-of-10 for 72 YDS; 30 CAR for 166 YDS and 1 TD
Adam Cofield, RB, NDSU: 7 CAR for 24 YDS and 1 TD
Phoenix Sproles, WR, NDSU: 1 CAR for 38 YDS and 1 TD; 1 REC for 13 YDS
Ben DiNucci, QB, JMU: 22-of-33 for 204 YDS, 2 TD and 1 INT
Percy Agyei-Obese, RB, JMU: 18 CAR for 73 YDS
Riley Stapleton, WR, JMU: 10 REC for 100 YDS and 2 TD
Lance Dazzles on National Stage as Bison Win 8th National Title
Despite NDSU's dominance for nearly a decade, James Madison entered Saturday's game as a slight favorite, and it was expected to be a tightly contested affair.
That is primarily because the Bison and Dukes boasted two of the best defenses in FCS this season, per ESPN Stats & Info.
The defensive excellence wasn't on full display in the early going, as JMU bled 7:33 off the clock on its first drive, which lasted 17 plays and 86 yards, and concluded with a five-yard touchdown pass from DiNucci to Riley Stapleton.
James Madison made a big-time statement on that drive, which meant the Bison needed to answer in impressive fashion.
They did precisely that, as Lance orchestrated a 70-yard drive in less than four minutes. After Lance set the Bison up on the 1-yard line with a 13-yard run, Adam Cofield punched it in from one yard out to tie the game.
North Dakota State struck again on its next drive after forcing James Madison to punt, and it didn't take the Bison long to assume the lead.
After a pass interference call and a 14-yard run by Lance set the Bison up in JMU territory, NDSU used some razzle dazzle, as wide receiver Phoenix Sproles scored on a 38-yard reverse that saw him fake the pitch.
James Madison did manage to answer with a field goal to cut the deficit to four, but it was the Bison who entered halftime with momentum on their side.
The Dukes thought they executed a huge third-down stop late in the half, but NDSU outsmarted James Madison again with a fake field goal that saw Hendricks rush for a 20-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 1.
While the total yardage numbers were comparable in the first half and the numbers didn't indicate that North Dakota State should have a two-score lead, first-year head coach Matt Entz's willingness to call some trick plays were the difference.
Lance's ability to do damage with his legs also played a big role in NDSU's early success, including this run, which saw him plow through the entire JMU defense and give his team a ton of energy.
As pointed out by Bob Grebe of WHSV, James Madison didn't have the defensive game plan it needed to keep Lance in check from a running perspective.
That seemingly began to change in the third quarter, as James Madison held North Dakota State scoreless and kicked a field goal to pull to within eight points.
Just when it looked like the Dukes were trending in the right direction, though, Lance made another highlight-reel play on a 44-yard touchdown run in the opening second of the fourth quarter to give NDSU a 15-point advantage.
It would have been easy for James Madison to pack it in against a top-flight defense at that point, but the Dukes continued to fight. They cut the lead back down to eight on another five-yard touchdown pass from DiNucci to Stapleton with 6:55 remaining.
The key play on that drive was conversion by DiNucci on a 4th-and-6 that saw him lower his head and bowl over a defender on a six-yard run.
North Dakota State had a chance to essentially put the game away on the ensuing drive, but the Dukes stopped the Bison on a 4th-and-2 and took control of the ball at their own 37 with 2:40 remaining.
JMU got the ball all the way down to the NDSU 3-yard line, but DiNucci was intercepted by Hendricks, who scored a rushing touchdown earlier in the game, which sealed the win for the Bison.
Lance wasn't asked to do much through the air, but he carries the NDSU offense with his legs and finished the season with no interceptions in 16 games, while the Bison defense came through in the clutch as well.
North Dakota State: 2018-19 Summit Men's Basketball Champions
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- Vinnie Shahid heeded his teammates' advice after a rough first half, and helped lead North Dakota State back to the NCAA Tournament.
Shahid scored 20 of his 22 points after halftime, and the Bison beat Omaha 73-63 on Tuesday night in the Summit League Tournament title game to earn their first NCAA Tournament bid since 2015.
"My teammates did a good job of giving me confidence," said Shahid, who was 1-of-4 shooting before the half. "They told me, `Keep being aggressive, keep being aggressive. It's going to fall when we need it to."
The No. 4-seeded Bison (17-15) also got 15 points and seven rebounds from Tyson Ward.
North Dakota State saw a 14-point second-half lead evaporate before securing the win with a late run. Omaha (21-10) tied it at 51 with 8:37 to play and had a chance at the lead, but Matt Pile missed a free throw on a potential three-point play. From there, the Bison went on a 9-0 run and were never threatened again, sealing the win with free throws down the stretch.
"This is a really good, talented Omaha team," North Dakota State coach David Richman said. "We knew they were going to make a push and that push happened. But this group has really grown."
Mitch Hahn scored 16 points and Zach Jackson had 15 for Omaha. Pile finished with 12 points and 14 rebounds while KJ Robinson scored 11 points.
Ward got back on track after scoring a season-low three points in North Dakota State's semifinal win over Western Illinois. He had 25 points in a quarterfinal win over Oral Roberts.
Ward had 11 against Omaha at halftime, and then Shahid took over. Shahid's 3-pointer as the shot clock expired with 2:10 remaining lifted the lead back to 10.
The No. 2-seeded Mavericks had gone the final 6:44 of the first half without a field goal. North Dakota State built a 41-27 halftime lead.
"You can't play uphill all night," Omaha coach Derrin Hansen said. "They had the lead for 36 minutes of the game. When you play uphill all night, it takes a lot of energy to overcome that."
BIG PICTURE
North Dakota State: Has a 1/3 record in the NCAA Tournament, including an 80-75, overtime upset of No. 5 seed Oklahoma in 2014. This was the Bison's fifth title game appearance in seven years.
Omaha: This is the second time Omaha has played in the Summit League title game. The program has never played in the NCAA Tournament.
BENCH PLAY
NDSU's Cameron Hunter scored 12 points off the bench and hit all three of his attempts both from 3-point range and from the free-throw line. Meanwhile, Omaha got just six bench points, all from Ayo Akinwole.
UP NEXT
North Dakota State: The Bison will find out their NCAA Tournament opponent on Sunday.
Omaha: The 21 wins are the most in the Mavericks' Division I history. They lose one senior in Jackson.
North Dakota State: 2018 NCAA Division I FCS National Champions
FRISCO, Texas -- It was always about more than going back-to-back and winning the FCS national championship for a record seventh time this season.
From the start, the 2018 edition to the North Dakota State dynasty sought nothing less than a perfect season. In completing that mission Saturday with a 38-24 victory over Eastern Washington in the championship game at Toyota Stadium, the Bison staked their claim to being one of the best teams in FCS history.
NDSU (15-0) was No. 1-ranked since the preseason and never relented behind a 24-member senior class which was the largest in program history. One of the them, fifth-year senior Easton Stick, accounted for 319 total yards and five touchdowns to help the Bison break what had been a tie with Georgia Southern for the most titles in FCS history.
One of the visuals was captured midway through the second quarter. Stick raced around left end and inside the pylon for his second of three touchdown runs. Not far behind making his away long the sideline, NDSU coach Chris Klieman channeled Tiger Woods with an underarm first pump into the air.
Stick, in completing his career with a 49-3 record as a starter, set the FCS record for wins by a quarterback. He had been tied with former NDSU great Brock Jensen, whose 48th and final victory capped the 2013 title season, when the Bison also went 15-0 as one of now five unbeaten, untied teams to claim FCS national titles.
Klieman, coaching in his final game before heading off to Kansas State, won his fourth national title to tie Youngstown State's Jim Tressel for the most in FCS history.
North Dakota State never trailed while clinching its 15th all-time national title (three College Division and five Division II crowns preceded FCS seventh heaven). The Missouri Valley Conference champ had to hold on, though, after Eastern Washington pulled within 31-24 on a quick-strike drive, capped by quarterback Eric Barriere's 5-yard touchdown run with 2:19 left.
But after NDSU recovered an onside kick and with the Eagles (12-3) seeking to force a punt on 3rd-and-7, Stick faked a handoff and went off right tackle when the defense looked the other way and raced off to a 46-yard touchdown and glory with 1:16 to go.
NDSU led 17-10 at halftime before the game briefly turned wild in the third quarter. In the first 4 minutes, 12 seconds, there were three turnovers and three touchdowns yet only two of the miscues led to scores. Stick sandwiched 23- and 78-yard touchdown passes to Darrius Sheppard (five receptions, 125 yards) around Eastern Washington running back Sam McPherson's 75-yard scoring run to push the advantage to 31-17.
In the first half, North Dakota State scored on its first three possessions, including Stick on 10- and 4-yard runs. But Eastern Washington, the No. 3 seed from the Big Sky Conference, pulled within 17-10 shortly before halftime. Holder Gunner Talklington sold a fake field goal before flipping the ball to tight end Jayce Gilder for a 2-yard touchdown with just 27 seconds left.
North Dakota State: 2017 NCAA Division I FCS National Champions
FRISCO, Texas (STATS) -- They saved the best for last in the FCS this season.
Add in the unmatched intensity and physicality and the 40th FCS championship game showed why it was one of the most anticipated in history.
North Dakota State returned to its familiar throne atop the subdivision with a 17-13 victory over defending champion James Madison before 19,090 at Toyota Stadium on Saturday, but not before the Bison gave a nod of respect across the line of scrimmage to a Dukes program that had stopped their run of five straight national titles last season.
While ending top-seeded James Madison's 26-game winning streak, North Dakota State (14-1) made it six championships in seven years, tying Georgia Southern for the most in FCS history. The Dukes dropped to 14-1 with the loss.
"A lot of institutions can have a great team here or there, but those are two great programs," fourth-year Bison coach Chris Klieman said.
"One thing we talk about all the time is leaving a legacy. How are you going to be remembered? The 2017 Bison are going to be remembered as a group of guys that had great resolve, smacks adversity right in the face when adversity hit us and, lo and behold, we became national champions for the sixth time in seven years."
The game was nothing short of epic.
The Bison, the Missouri Valley Conference champs and No. 2 playoff seed, built a 17-6 halftime lead, scoring twice off turnovers, and then desperately held on in the final 30 minutes after Marcus Marshall's 1-yard touchdown run early in the third. Fittingly, James Madison had a late drive with a chance to take the lead, but after punter Harry O'Kelly's 24-yard run on a fake kept it alive, the Dukes didn't make it past the Bison 18.
Under heavy pressure on fourth down, Dukes quarterback Bryan Schor heaved a high-arching pass to the North Dakota State goal line, but the ball was knocked to the ground. The Bison then ran out the final 58 seconds.
The Bison employed two new starting cornerbacks because of injury, so Schor attacked the secondary, but he was continually scrambling against the NDSU pass rush. Sacked four times, including twice by defensive end Derrek Tuszka, Schor was 14 of 32 for 148 yards with a pair of interceptions and no touchdowns.
"We found a way to play red zone defense, which is a staple for us," Klieman said. "I say this all the time, field goals aren't going to beat you."
Said James Madison coach Mike Houston: "They made the plays. We made too many mistakes."
Bison junior quarterback Easton Stick was named the game's most outstanding player, totaling 165 yards of offense, including a 50-yard touchdown pass to Darrius Shepherd in the second quarter.
In the bruising matchup of the two best defenses in the FCS, the Stick-to-Shepherd score was the biggest offensive play of the game. On 3rd-and-17 from midfield, Shepherd slipped behind the James Madison secondary and Stick lofted a pass to him at the 10, which Shepherd turned into his first touchdown of the season and a 14-3 Bison lead with 4:14 left in the half. It marked the first time all season the Dukes trailed by double digits.
"Great time to get a first," Klieman said.
"We got the coverage that we wanted and really it was all on Darrius running away from that backside safety," Stick said. "Offensive line protected really well, (running back) Lance (Dunn) sold the fake well and Darrius was able to run underneath it and get us in the end zone. That was a huge play for us."
James Madison scored on its first possession of the third quarter to close within 17-13. D'Angelo Amos' 33-yard punt return to the Bison 33 set up the drive and Marshall capped it with a 1-yard run.
As the two powers combined for only 505 yards of total offense, North Dakota State never trailed in holding a nearly 15 1/2-minute possession advantage. Bruce Anderson carried the ball 18 times for 63 yards with a 3-yard touchdown, while Dunn returned from a midseason injury to gain 50 yards on 13 carries.
The Bison got some redemption for their 27-17 semifinal-round loss to James Madison that spurred the CAA Football champ to last year's FCS title.
Senior linebacker Nick DeLuca missed that game because of injury, so he'd been waiting for over a year to get another shot at the Dukes.
"It's an expectation to get back to this game and to get back to the national championship," he said. "We take that on as a responsibility and it's something that we set as a goal every year. We're really excited that we were able to get it done this year."
The FCS dynasty continues.
North Dakota State: 2015 NCAA Division I FCS Champions
FRISCO, Texas -- Carson Wentz got one more game as North Dakota State's quarterback before the NFL draft -- and another FCS title.
A potential first-round pick, Carson threw for a touchdown and ran for two more scores in his first game since breaking his right wrist in mid-October, and the Bison won their unprecedented fifth consecutive FCS championship with a 37-10 victory Saturday over top-seeded Jacksonville State.
"I felt good. I felt good for the last couple weeks now. That kind of showed a little today," said Wentz, a two-time champion after Brock Jensen won three in a row for the Bison. "The rust people might have wanted to talk about it, that didn't show."
Five days after a CT scan showed his wrist was completely healed, Wentz was 16-of-29 for 197 yards with two interceptions. He accounted for two touchdowns in an 86-second span early in the second quarter.
"So happy for Carson to come in and play the way he did," coach Chris Klieman said. "A lot of people may have questioned if he was going to be rusty. I didn't question it at all. I know what kind of competitor he is. I know what kind of player he is."
The Bison (13-2) won their 20th consecutive playoff game, including all five times they have made the trip from Fargo to Frisco for the title game at a professional soccer stadium. Fans clad in green and gold made up a majority of the stadium-record crowd of 21,836 -- and stormed the field to celebrate once again.
Jacksonville State (13-2) was playing in the title game for the first time. It had won 12 games in a row since an overtime loss Sept. 12 at Auburn, one of the two SEC teams from its home state of Alabama. The other, the Crimson Tide, plays No. 1 Clemson on Monday night in the College Football Playoff championship game.
The Gamecocks were held to a season-low 204 total yards, 325 below their average and 181 under their previous season low. North Dakota State held all four of its playoff opponents well below their season averages, but this was the most dominant.
"It was not our best day, of course," JSU coach John Grass said. "But take my hat off to North Dakota State. They played a great game. We just didn't give them a good game today."
Eli Jenkins, the dual-threat quarterback for the Gamecocks, finished 7-of-20 passing for 57 yards with two interceptions, and ran 15 times for 88 yards and their only touchdown.
"We needed to hop up him early and try to get him off schedule and stop the run game. So, that was huge," said middle linebacker Nick DeLuca, who had nine tackles, an interception and a forced fumble.
Cam Pedersen had field goals of 29, 31 and 38 yards for North Dakota State after making only one of seven attempts the first three playoff games.
There were seven turnovers in the game, including three consecutive plays early in the fourth quarter that ended any chance of a Jacksonville State rally.
Jenkins fumbled at the end of a run before Easton Stick, a redshirt freshman who had won all eight games starting in place of Wentz, threw an interception on his first play in the game. But Jacksonville State gave it right back when Jenkins threw an interception, leading to a 1-yard TD keeper by Wentz for a 34-10 lead.
Northwest Missouri State last month won its fifth NCAA Division II championship, matching the record number of titles North Dakota State won at that level before moving up to Division I in 2004. But the Bearcats' titles have come since 1998, and only once have they won consecutive championships -- 1998 and 1999.
Mount Union this season won its NCAA-best 12th title in Division III since 1993, but its longest streak was three in a row. The most consecutive titles at that level were four by Augustana from Illinois (1983-86).
But none can match the Bison's streak of five in a row.
"I can't put it into words. It's remarkable what these guys have done," Klieman said. "We meet every January and talk about staying hungry."
Pedersen's 29-yard kick ended a game-opening 15-play drive. It was 17-0 early in the second quarter after Wentz threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to tight end Andrew Bonnet and then after an interception by DeLuca ran for an 11-yard score, shaking off a defender and getting to the sideline before planting his foot near the 3 and diving into the end zone.
"I was fired up all day to be out there," Wentz said. "It was just a lot of fun."
North Dakota State: 2014-15 Summit League Men's Basketball Champions
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- North Dakota State appeared to take control of the game with a big run midway through the second half. However, the Bison had to fend off South Dakota State's surge down the stretch to earn a return trip to the NCAA Tournament.
North Dakota State: 2014-15 NCAA Division I FCS National Champions
FRISCO, Texas -- Carson Wentz didn't come all the way to Texas to be the quarterback for the end of North Dakota State's run of FCS championships.
Faced with that unsettling possibility, Wentz answered with a dramatic history-making drive.
Wentz ran 5 yards for the winning touchdown about a minute after Tre Roberson's 58-yard run put Illinois State ahead, and the Bison became the first team to win four straight FCS titles with a thrilling 29-27 victory Saturday.
"Right when that clock hit zero, I had so many emotions I couldn't say anything," Wentz said. "I didn't know whether to cry or to be happy. It was just unbelievable."
North Dakota State (15-1) lost a nine-point lead in the fourth quarter, but answered quickly after falling behind. RJ Urzendowski had catches of 32 and 33 yards to get the Bison in scoring range, and Wentz broke a tackle around the 5 and eased into the end zone with 37 seconds left, capping a 78-yard drive in six plays.
Roberson threw three touchdown passes, but also an interception to Esley Thorton in the final seconds trying to get the Redbirds (13-2) in field goal range in their first national title appearance.
"Like we have all year long, we fought really hard to get back in the game after some mistakes and were able to take the lead," Illinois State coach Brock Spack said. "They made some big-time plays at the end to win it. It was just very, very close."
It looked as if the Bison would finally have a disappointing trip to the professional soccer stadium north of Dallas that has become their second home when Roberson faked a handoff to 2,000-yard rusher Marshaun Coprich, went to his left and cut upfield on the midfield logo. He ran untouched to the end zone.
A failed 2-point conversion left the Redbirds with a 27-23 lead with 1:38 remaining.
Wentz hit Urzendowski on a crossing route for 32 yards on the first play of the next drive, and later unloaded the ball deep with pressure coming when Urzendowski, a freshman who had 100 yards on five catches, found the ball while safety DraShane Glass never looked back for the throw inside the 10.
Wentz scored on the next play, to the delight of yet another mostly green- and yellow-clad crowd that celebrated again about 40 miles from where Oregon and Ohio State will play for the first title in FBS' College Football Playoff National Championship Presented by AT&T on Monday night.
"The first one, I don't know. We didn't draw it up like that," said Wentz, who had 237 yards passing and a touchdown and another 87 yards on the ground. "And the second one, quite frankly, was a terrible throw. RJ made a heck of a play."
The Bison won a de facto Missouri Valley Conference title game between league co-champions that didn't play in the regular season -- the first time two teams from the same conference have played for the FCS crown.
Wentz led a rally that added a title a year after predecessor Brock Jensen set an FCS record for quarterbacks with 48 victories.
"With our guys, I never saw any doubt in their mind," said North Dakota State coach Chris Klieman, the former defensive coordinator who over for Craig Bohl after last season's title. "The way it went back and forth on this kind of stage was pretty special."
North Dakota safety Christian Dudzik had five tackles in his 61st start, believed to be a first for a Division I player, to highlight a senior class that had more national titles (four) than losses (58-3 record). Appalachian State is the only other FCS team to win three straight titles.
Wentz, already the school record-holder for yards passing in a season, threw for 237 yards and a touchdown and had 87 yards rushing.
Roberson, an Indiana transfer, had 161 yards rushing and 157 passing, while Coprich added 106 yards on the ground.
Adam Keller had three field goals for North Dakota State, breaking the FCS single-season record for kickers with 145 points before his final point-after attempt was blocked to give the Redbirds a chance to win with a field goal.
Roberson reached the 44 in the final seconds, but Thorton won a tussle for the ball on a throw over the middle. The interception was held up on review.
"Time was running out," Roberson said. "I was trying to make a play and I made a dumb throw in the middle of the field. I shouldn't have made that throw."
North Dakota State: 2013-14 Summit League Men's Basketball Champions
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- Taylor Braun made a key layup while being fouled with 12 seconds left and added the free throw to lead North Dakota State to a 60-57 win over Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne for the Summit League title on Tuesday and the Bison's second trip to the NCAA tournament.
North Dakota State: 2013 NCAA Division I FCS National Champions
FRISCO, Texas -- From Fargo to Frisco again, and a perfect championship ending for senior quarterback Brock Jensen and coach Craig Bohl at North Dakota State.
Jensen threw a touchdown pass and ran for another score in his FCS-quarterback record 48th victory, and the Bison capped a 15-0 season with a 35-7 victory over Towson on Saturday to claim their third consecutive FCS title in Bohl's final game at the school.
"It hasn't (set in) right now, but I think in a couple of months it's going to," said Bohl, who stayed with the Bison for their playoff run after accepting the job as Wyoming's coach. "This team was possessed with perfection. And they relentlessly pursued it. ... It's pretty remarkable."
The Bison joined Appalachian State (2005-07) as the only FCS teams to win three consecutive championships. They are the first undefeated champs at that level since Marshall in 1996, the year before the Thundering Herd moved to Division I.
"It gets better every time. Definitely," Jensen said. "That was the last time I'll put on a Bison jersey but man, it's been a fun ride."
Bohl was 104-32 in 11 seasons at North Dakota State, which has won 24 consecutive games to match the FCS record.
The Bison went ahead to stay on Ryan Smith's 5-yard TD run in the second quarter that snapped a 7-7 tie. That came one play after Colten Heagle blocked a field goal try that was scooped up by defensive end Kyle Emanuel and returned 59 yards. It was the first of three consecutive possessions when North Dakota State scored touchdowns.
"We made a mistake, and they made us pay for it," Towson coach Rob Ambrose said. "I think we all knew what kind of game it was at that point. ... Things were moving in the right direction, at least for us, head to head, pretty even."
Towson (13-3), the first school to play in championship games at the FCS and NCAA Division III levels, was 1-10 only three years ago in Ambrose's second season. But the Tigers had their lowest scoring total since a 28-3 loss at Maryland four games into the 2011 season.
This was the fourth consecutive year the title game was played in the professional soccer stadium in North Texas, but this game was plagued by problems with the grass turf. During each timeout, groups of workers and volunteers had to pat down chunks of turf that were coming up during play.
Nick Shafer, the stadium's vice president of operations, said in a statement that the turf between the hash marks was replaced Nov. 18. Soon after that, the area was hit by an extended stretch of unusual freezing weather and ice sat on the field for a week. Shafer says that "prevented the grass from taking root underneath the turf."
Players from both teams clearly were having problems at times with footing. The most obvious was Towson running back Darius Victor falling down behind the line for a 3-yard loss after stepping into one of the divots, two plays before the blocked field goal.
"It's really unfortunate but those things come up. Both teams where in the same position," Bohl said. "This was atypical. The last several times we've been down here, it's been a great track."
Terrance West ran 3 yards on the final play of the first quarter for Towson's only touchdown, his 41st TD rushing and 42nd overall this season. The junior finished with 22 carries for 99 yards, pushing his season total to 2,509 -- the most ever by an FCS player.
After CJ Smith reached over his shoulder for an interception and a 32-yard return just before halftime, Jensen threw a 12-yard TD to Zach Vraa, his school-record 15th scoring catch this season, for a 21-7 lead. Jensen ran 9 yards for a score on the Bison's possession after halftime, and Sam Ojuri added a 1-yard TD in the fourth quarter.
There was a sellout crowd of 19,802, most of them dressed in Bison colors in what has becoming an annual January trek.
North Dakota State: 2012 NCAA Division I FCS National Champions
BRAG AND CHAT ABOUT IT HERE: Big second half lifts North Dakota State to second straight national title
FRISCO, Texas -- Make it back-to-back national championships for North Dakota State.
The Bison put together a dominating second half and took advantage of three interceptions to take a 39-13 victory over Sam Houston State. Before a partisan Bison crowd of 21,411, the Division I Football Championship Subdivision title was the 10th title in school history.
NDSU is the first FCS repeat champ since Appalachian State won three straight from 2005-07.
The Bison scored two touchdowns in the third quarter to break a 10-10 halftime tie.
Carlton Littlejohn's interception led to a one-yard touchdown run by Brock Jensen to make it 17-10. Then, after NDSU held Sam Houston on a fourth-and-3 thanks to pressure by defensive end Kyle Emanuel, Sam Ojuri scored from two yards out.
NDSU converted a two-point conversion when kicker Adam Keller, after a botched snap, hit Mike Hardie for a 25-10 advantage.
Brock Jensen scored on a one-yard run and Ojuri had an 11-yarder for another score in the fourth quarter.
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