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DENVER – The North Dakota State men's basketball team emerged victorious in a thrilling battle with the University of Denver on Thursday night, as the Bison held on for a 73-69 overtime win at Magness Arena.
 
Tied at 60 with 11 seconds left in the second half, NDSU's Lawrence Alexander drained a 24-foot three-pointer to put the Bison up 63-60 with 2.7 seconds on the clock. With no timeouts remaining for either team, Denver inbounded immediately and senior guard Brett Olson made a running heave from half-court as time expired to send the contest to overtime tied at 63-63.
 
Chris Kading opened the overtime period with a backdoor lay-in and Alexander added two free throws on the next possession to give NDSU a four-point cushion. Alexander later tacked on a layup and four more free throws to seal the victory.
 
NDSU (18-7 overall, 10-2 Summit League) never trailed in the game. The Bison led by as many as 12 points in the second half, holding a 53-41 advantage over the Pioneers with 5:30 remaining.
 
Alexander finished with 28 points and a team-leading seven rebounds. NDSU redshirt freshman A.J. Jacobson matched his season-high with 19 points.
 
NDSU shot 56 percent for the game and made 7-of-10 attempts from beyond the arc. Freshman Brian Ishola tallied a season-high four rebounds in 20 minutes off the Bison bench.
 
Olson finished with 22 points for the Pioneers (10-14, 4-7 Summit).
 
The Bison scored the game's first 10 points and held Denver scoreless for over six minutes to open the contest as the Pioneers started 0-for-8 shooting. NDSU led by as many as 11 points on two different occasions in the first half.
 
NDSU travels to Brookings, S.D., next for a showdown with South Dakota State on Saturday at 4 p.m. That game will be broadcast on Midco Sports Network, ESPN3 and the ESPN Full Court package.