FARGO, N.D. - Lawrence Alexander scored a career-high 26 points to lead North Dakota State to an 84-68 win over IPFW in Summit League men's basketball Friday, Dec. 30, before a crowd of 3,076 at the Bison Sports Arena.

Marshall Bjorklund notched his third double-double of the season with 23 points and 13 rebounds for North Dakota State, which improved to 10-3 overall and 3-1 in the league with its sixth straight home win.

Frank Gaines scored 26 points for IPFW, Justin Jordan added 14 points off the bench including four 3-pointers, and Trey McCorkle had 10 points.  The Mastodons fell to 7-6 overall and 1-3 in the league.

North Dakota State scored 14 straight points to break a 54-54 tie at the 9:01 mark, and the Bison made 20 of 22 free throws in the final 5:12 to help seal the victory.

Alexander was 14-for-16 and Bjorklund was 7-for-9 at the foul line, where NDSU made a season high 33 free throws in 42 tries.  The Bison had a 42-29 advantage in total rebounds.

IPFW shot 52 percent in the first half and had a 14-0 run of its own after falling behind 6-0.  The Mastodons led by as many as 10 points twice but the Bison closed within 39-37 at halftime on a three-point play by Alexander.

Mike Felt was the only other Bison player in double figures with 14 points off the bench.  NDSU shot 47 percent compared to IPFW's 41 percent.