FORT MYERS, Fla.--The North Dakota State men's basketball team advanced to the semifinal round of the National Independent Tournament with a 68-63 win over Central State (Ohio) on Thursday, Feb. 17, at Florida Gulf Coast University.

North Dakota State made all 10 of its free throws in the final two minutes of the game to seal its ninth straight win and improve to 14-11 overall.

Central State (8-12) was within three points late in the game, but two foul shots by NDSU's Adam Dobmeier and two more by Brandon Smith in the closing seconds kept the Marauders at bay.

North Dakota State closed the first half on a 10-2 run to take a 27-19 halftime lead.  The Bison led by as many as 11 points near the 9:00 mark of the second half.

Dobmeier finished with a game-high 16 points.  He was only 3 of 11 from the floor but made 9 of 10 foul shots as the Bison shot 23-for-33 at the line as a team.

Myron Green was NDSU's second leading scorer with 15 points on 6-of-15 shooting.  Matt Gerber scored nine points off the bench, Smith finished with seven points, and Dotun Obadina scored seven on a field goal and five free throws--two of them in the closing minutes.

North Dakota State had a 42-35 rebounding advantage.  Green and David Erbes each had seven rebounds for the Bison.

Central State's Brandon Smith--not the Bison player--scored a team-high 13 points.  Adam Ellis chipped in 12 points for the Marauders and Jason Roman posted a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

The Bison are scheduled to play South Dakota State on Friday, Feb. 18.  Tipoff is scheduled for 4:45 p.m. CT at Alico Arena.  The winner will advance to the tournament's championship game scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 19, at 7 p.m. CT.

South Dakota State defeated Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras in the tournament's second first-round game on Thursday, 65-58.