SIOUX FALLS—North Dakota State will return to the championship game of The Summit League Men’s Basketball Tournament for the first time since winning the title in 2008 after defeating Western Illinois 55-43 in the semifinals Monday night.The Bison will take a 24-8 record into the championship game against defending league champion South Dakota State (24-9). The teams split during the regular season, each winning on its home court.NDSU, which lost to WIU twice during the regular season, led 24-20 at the half and opened a 37-28 lead on a layup by Kory Brown with 11:38 to play.Western Illinois cut it to 37-34 on a jumper by Adam Link before TrayVonn Wright buried back-to-back three pointers to put the Bison back in charge.Wright led the Bison with 19 points, hitting 5-of-8 three-point shots, and also had seven rebounds. Taylor Braun added 14 points and seven boards.Link was the only player in double figures for Western Illinois, with 12 points.  The Leathernecks lost all-league guard Ceola Clark III to an injury with 9:20 to play and were already playing without all-league post player Terell Parks, sidelined with an injury.NDSU out-shot WIU 46.2 percent (18-of-39) to 35.7 percent (15-of-42) and had a 30-21 rebounding advantage.

NOTES—Attendance was 6,676. That total is the highest semifinal session attendance in Sioux Falls and the most since the 1994 tournament in Rosemont…–Through three days of the 2013 Summit League Championships, attendance is 32,171. That figure is 3,560 more than at the same time last year when the total attendance record of 40,269 was set…..North Dakota State is the first No. 3 seed to reach the championship game since 2009 (Oakland) and only the second in the past 15 tournaments.
–The 98 combined points were the lowest total since 89 were scored in a 1993 quarterfinal (UIC 46, Green Bay 43)