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SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Lawrence Alexander scored a game-high 25 points to lift the North Dakota State men's basketball team to its second straight Summit League Tournament title and back-to-back NCAA Tournament bids with a 57-56 victory over South Dakota State on Tuesday night.
 
Alexander put on a 6-of-9 performance from three-point range to lead the Bison. The senior from Peoria, Ill., was named Summit League Tournament MVP and voted to the all-tournament team for his performance. A.J. Jacobson added 12 points and joined Alexander on the all-tournament team.
 
NDSU (23-9 overall) has now won three Summit League Tournament titles in the last seven seasons.
 
The Bison strung together a 17-4 run in the second half and led by nine with just over six minutes remaining. NDSU held a 57-49 lead with 2:53 to go in the second half when South Dakota State went on a 7-0 run, trimming the advantage to 57-56 after a pair of free throws from Cody Larson with 42 seconds remaining.
 
SDSU (23-10 overall) had two chances to take a lead in the final 15 seconds following missed free throws by the Bison. George Marshall missed on a contested attempt in the lane with nine seconds on the clock.
 
The Jackrabbits had one final look at a game-winning shot with two seconds remaining, but Deondre Parks' three missed and the Bison snagged the rebound, sealing the NDSU victory.
 
Jacobson, Kory Brown and Paul Miller each grabbed eight rebounds to lead NDSU on the boards.
 
Larson led South Dakota State with 19 points on 5-for-13 shooting, while Parks added 13. Reed Tellinghuisen paced the Jacks on the glass, pulling down nine rebounds.  
 
NDSU limited SDSU to 31 percent shooting in the game and posted a 43-36 advantage on the glass.
 
The Bison will find out the date, location and opponent for their opening NCAA Tournament game on Sunday, March 15.