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VERMILLION, S.D. – North Dakota State is the only visiting men's basketball team to win at South Dakota's Sanford Coyote Sports Center. And now the Bison have done it twice.
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NDSU withstood a second-half rally by the Coyotes to pull out an 84-79 victory on Saturday afternoon.
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Redshirt freshman guard
Cameron Hunter scored a season-high 35 points for the Bison, making 9-of-12 shots, a perfect 5-for-5 from three-point range, and 12-of-14 at the free throw line. Senior guard
Paul Miller added an impressive 24 points, six rebounds and six assists for NDSU.
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The Bison made 11-of-22 from beyond the arc in the game and shot 53 percent overall.
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NDSU led by 14 in the opening minute of the second half following a three-point play by Hunter that made it 49-35. South Dakota battled back to cut the Bison lead to four on three different occasions before finally storming into the lead with a 7-0 run capped by a Matt Mooney three-pointer. The Coyotes led 72-71 with 4:45 remaining.
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The Bison took the lead for good when Miller found
Spencer Eliason under the basket for a bucket with 2:11 left, and then a steal by Hunter on the next possession led to a layup for Miller to make it 79-76 NDSU with 1:41 to play.
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Hunter made five free throws in the final minute to close out the victory.
Deng Geu,
Chris Quayle and Eliason all finished with six points for the Bison.
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NDSU trailed 15-3 less than four minutes into the game, but the Bison rallied with a 17-2 run late in the first half – at one point making three-pointers on five consecutive possessions.
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NDSU won 70-69 in Vermillion last season. South Dakota is 21-0 against all other opponents in the two-year-old arena.
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NDSU hosts Denver on Thursday, Jan. 11, at the Scheels Center.
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