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EL PASO, Texas – The North Dakota State men's basketball team shot 61 percent overall and made 14 three-pointers to dominate UNC Wilmington in a 100-63 victory Thursday evening in the opening round of the Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational.
 
The Bison will play UTEP in the championship game on Friday night at approximately 8:15 p.m. CT / 7:15 p.m. MT.
 
NDSU's 14 three pointers were the most by the Bison since hitting 14 in a win over South Dakota on Feb. 7, 2015. The Bison connected on 14-of-25 attempts (56 percent) from beyond the arc.
 
Sophomore Tyson Ward led NDSU with 17 points, and sophomore Deng Geu added 16 points and a season-high eight rebounds. Senior Paul Miller scored 16 for the Bison.
 
UNC Wilmington led 8-7 just over five minutes into the game before five straight points from freshman forward Rocky Kreuser gave the Bison a 12-8 advantage. NDSU put together an 11-0 run and outscored the Seahawks 40-18 over the final 12:30 of the first half.
 
The Bison led 52-28 at halftime and went ahead by as many as 38 points at 82-44 with eight minutes remaining.
 
Senior A.J. Jacobson tallied 11 points and six rebounds for the Bison. Sophomores Jared Samuelson and Chris Quayle both scored nine – a new season-high for Quayle.
 
NDSU set season highs in free throws made (20) and free throws attempted (25).