PDF Box Score
Photo Gallery

FARGO, N.D. – Lawrence Alexander poured in 18 points after halftime to lift the North Dakota State men's basketball team to a 61-54 overtime victory over Denver at Scheels Arena on Thursday evening. NDSU extended its home-court winning streak to 21 games, which is tied with Virginia for the seventh-longest active streak in the country.
 
NDSU (14-7, 6-2 Summit League) stays within one-half game of South Dakota State for first place in The Summit League. Alexander finished with 21 points on 5-of-8 shooting from three-point range.
 
The Bison trailed by 11 points at 33-22 with 13:27 left in the second half. NDSU rattled off a 7-0 run at that point and eventually battled back to take a 43-42 lead on a layup by Kory Brown with 4:25 left.
 
NDSU's Dexter Werner made a free throw to tie the game at 47-47 with 56 seconds left in regulation, and Denver's Jalen Love missed a three-pointer at the buzzer to force overtime.
 
The Bison never trailed in the OT period, taking the lead for good on a trey by freshman Paul Miller that made it 52-49 with 3:53 on the clock. NDSU went 7-for-10 at the free throw line in overtime.
 
Denver (9-12, 3-5 Summit) was led by 15 points from junior guard Nate Engesser.
 
Brown recorded a career-high 13 rebounds to go along with 11 points for NDSU. Werner finished with 10 points and five rebounds, and A.J. Jacobson tallied a season-best five assists.

NDSU posted a sizable 35-19 rebounding margin for the game, including a 24-9 mark after halftime.
 
The game was tied at 13 before Denver went on a 13-3 run over the final seven minutes of the first half to lead 26-16 at the break. The Bison shot just 5-of-17 (29 percent) in the opening half.
 
NDSU will travel to Macomb, Ill., to play Western Illinois on Sunday, Feb. 1, at 2 p.m.