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FARGO, N.D. – Playing the same five players for the final 22 minutes of the game, the North Dakota State men's basketball team pulled out a 55-46 victory over Akron on Tuesday evening at Scheels Arena.
 
With the win, NDSU improved to 6-4 on the season and extended the nation's eighth-longest home court winning streak to 16 games. Akron (6-4 overall) is ranked 12th in the country in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll.
 
Senior guard Lawrence Alexander used a 10-for-10 effort at the free throw line to pace the Bison with 22 points, but the story of the game was NDSU sophomore forward Dexter Werner. The Bismarck, N.D., native pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds and extended numerous NDSU possessions with his play in the paint.
 
Werner's 16 rebounds were the most by a Bison in over eight years – since Andre Smith had 17 at Minnesota on Nov. 13, 2006. Werner also posted eight points, four blocks and two steals.
 
Junior Kory Brown added 15 points for NDSU, including eight of the first 10 points for the Bison as they opened up a 10-4 lead just over eight minutes into the game. Brown's first three-pointer at the 16:27 mark of the first half gave the Bison a lead they would never relinquish.
 
NDSU led for the final 36:26 of the game.
 
Akron trimmed a 10-point deficit to one at 45-44 with 2:52 left in the game, but back-to-back buckets from Carlin Dupree and Werner sparked NDSU to close the contest on a 10-2 run.
 
Normal starter A.J. Jacobson was out with a knee injury for NDSU, and his replacement Paul Miller was battling a sickness and unavailable on Tuesday night. The Bison used only seven players, with freshmen Evan Wesenberg and Brian Ishola combining for seven minutes in the first half. Alexander, Dupree and Brown played all 40 minutes, Chris Kading played 38, and Werner played 35 after making his first career start.
 
NDSU limited Akron to 29.8 percent field goal shooting and a season-low 46 points.
 
The Bison will travel to El Paso, Texas, to play two games in the WestStar Bank Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational on Dec. 21-22. NDSU opens against Kent State at 6 p.m. (CT) on Sunday, Dec. 21.