NDSU Wraps Up Non-Conference Slate vs. Northland College

Sunday, December 28

Fargo, N.D.

2 p.m.

North Dakota State Athletics

Northland (Wis.)

Photo by: Tyler Ingham

NDSU Wraps Up Non-Conference Slate vs. Northland College

12/26/2014 12:01:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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        The North Dakota State men's basketball team will host Northland College, a Division III school located in Ashland, Wis., for its final non-conference game of the 2014-15 season on Sunday, Dec. 28, at 2 p.m. inside Scheels Arena. The Bison open 2015 and the Summit League season with home games against Oral Roberts on Jan. 2 and South Dakota State on Jan. 4.

The Series
        Sunday's game will be the second meeting all-time between the Bison and LumberJacks. NDSU scored a 77-55 victory over Northland on Jan. 3, 2004, in the last season of Division II play.
        CoCo Cofield led the Bison with 16 points in the 77-55 victory in 2004, and David Erbes added 11 points. The win was the fifth straight in the middle of a 10-game NDSU winning streak.

About Northland College
        Northland College is an NCAA Division III school in Ashland, Wis., that competes in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference.
        The LumberJacks carry a record of 2-6 into Sunday's game at NDSU. Northland went 5-20 last season and was picked to finish sixth out of eight teams in the UMAC this year.
        Junior guard Gerald Bates leads the team with 15.5 points per game.
        Head coach Scott Sorenson is in his third season at Northland after serving as an assistant at Minnesota-Crookston and Bemidji State in the NSIC.

Home Court: NDSU is 29-2 at home since the start of the 2012-13 season, with the only two losses being to Western Illinois (49-36) on Feb. 14, 2013, and Southern Miss (70-69) on Nov. 18, 2013. The Bison have won 16 straight home games, which is tied for the 9th-longest active home winning streak in the nation. Duke leads the NCAA with 38 straight home victories.

Big Man: Dexter Werner is the only player in The Summit League this season with 70-plus rebounds and 20-plus blocks.

Taking Care: The Bison are committing only 9.7 turnovers per game this season, ranking them fifth-best in the nation. Cal Poly leads NCAA Division I with 8.0 turnovers per game. NDSU is also ranked 11th in Division I for fewest fouls committed per game at 14.6.

Double-Double: Dexter Werner recorded his first career double-double to lift NDSU to a 61-50 victory over Alcorn State in the consolation game of the Sun Bowl Invitational on Dec. 22 in El Paso, Texas. Werner, a sophomore forward from Bismarck, N.D., scored 16 points and pulled down 11 rebounds to lead the Bison in both categories. Over his last three games, Werner is averaging 12.3 points and 12.0 rebounds.

Sweet 16: Dexter Werner pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds in NDSU's 55-46 win over Akron on Dec. 16. Werner's rebound total was the highest by a Bison in over eight years – since Andre Smith had 17 at Minnesota on Nov. 13, 2006. Werner and Smith are the only two Bison in the Division I era (since 2004-05) to record more than 15 rebounds in a game.

Brown Steps Up: Kory Brown posted the two highest point totals of his career in back-to-back home games on Dec. 13 and Dec. 16. Brown scored 18 points in a victory over North Dakota on Dec. 13 and followed up with 15 points in a win over Akron on Dec. 16.

By Half: Freshman Paul Miller is shooting 44 percent (12-of-27) from three-point range in the first half this season. Senior Lawrence Alexander is shooting 45 percent (21-of-47) from beyond the arc in the second half.

Home vs. Away: In five NDSU road games this season, Bison opponents are shooting 49 percent from the field. In five games in Fargo, Bison opponents are shooting 38 percent.

At the Stripe: Lawrence Alexander is a perfect 14-of-14 from the free throw line in the final five minutes of games. As a team, the Bison bump their free throw percentage from 69 percent to 76 percent in the final five minutes.

Defensive Lockdown: NDSU allowed 42 points to North Dakota on Dec. 13 and 46 points to Akron on Dec. 16. Those totals are the two lowest for Division I opponents since the start of last season. Over the last four contests, the Bison have allowed 47.8 points per game.

Heavy Load: NDSU's starting lineup carried a heavy load in the win over Akron on Dec. 16. Normal starter A.J. Jacobson was out with a knee injury, and his replacement Paul Miller was battling a sickness and unavailable. The Bison used only seven players. Lawrence Alexander, Carlin Dupree and Kory Brown played all 40 minutes, Chris Kading played 38, and Dexter Werner played 35 after making his first career start.

Home Cooking: Kory Brown is shooting 64.5 percent in home games this season.

Iron Man: Lawrence Alexander is playing an average of 38.3 minutes through 12 games this season, ranking him fifth in the nation in minutes. The senior guard has played all 40 minutes in six of the last 10 contests.