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FARGO, N.D. – The North Dakota State men's basketball team opened up a 21-point lead in the first half and held on late for a 72-69 victory over South Dakota State on Sunday afternoon at Scheels Arena. The Bison improved to 10-5 overall and 2-0 in The Summit League, stretching their home court winning streak to 19.
 
NDSU has now won nine of the last 10 games against SDSU in Fargo and nine of the last 13 meetings overall between the schools.
 
Junior Kory Brown led the Bison with 17 points – one shy of a career high. Lawrence Alexander tallied 16 points and seven rebounds, and Dexter Werner added 14 points. NDSU shot 49 percent from the floor and registered only six turnovers.
 
SDSU (9-7, 0-2 Summit) was led by Cody Larson and Deondre Parks, who both scored 21 points.
 
The Bison never trailed, scoring the first nine points of the game and extending their lead to 22-8 just over 11 minutes into the contest. NDSU pushed the lead to as many as 21 points on three different occasions, holding a 38-17 advantage with 2:48 left in the first half.
 
SDSU consistently trimmed the deficit – from 40-24 at halftime, to 43-33 with 17 minutes left, to 51-49 with 10 minutes remaining. The Jackrabbits made 10 consecutive shots to key the comeback, starting late in the first half and stretching into the second half.
 
Leading 58-55 with just over five minutes left, the Bison went on an 8-3 run capped by back-to-back buckets from Werner to go up 66-58. SDSU battled back once more, closing the gap to one at 70-69 on a Deondre Parks three-pointer with 44 seconds left.
 
Alexander drove to the basket and drew a foul on the following possession, connecting on both free throws with 15.6 seconds left. At the defensive end, Brown blocked a layup attempt at the rim, and Parks missed a three-pointer from the wing that would have tied the game with four seconds left.
 
NDSU will travel to Omaha for a Summit League road game on Thursday, Jan. 8, at 7 p.m.