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JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – The North Dakota State men's basketball team cut a second-half deficit to seven points at East Tennessee State on Saturday afternoon, but ETSU prevailed with a 79-61 non-conference victory over the Bison.
 
ETSU improved to 5-2 with the win, while NDSU fell to 2-4 on the season.
 
ETSU's Isaiah Tisdale scored 18 points to lead all players, as the Buccaneers shot 59 percent for the game and 45 percent from three-point range.
 
Sophomore forward Rocky Kreuser led the Bison with 13 points and seven rebounds. Junior Tyson Ward scored 11 and dished out four assists for NDSU, and freshman guard Jarius Cook scored a season-high 10 points off the bench.
 
ETSU held a slim 16-15 advantage nearly 12 minutes into the contest before an 8-0 run gave the Buccaneers some breathing room. NDSU trailed 39-27 at halftime.
 
The Bison cut the deficit to nine at 51-42 on a bucket by Ward with 13:22 remaining, but ETSU responded to push the margin back to 14. Cook later scored eight straight points for NDSU to get within seven at 62-55 with just under seven minutes left.
 
ETSU put together an 11-3 run over the next 3:30 to put the game away.
 
NDSU travels to Spokane, Wash., next to take on No. 3-ranked Gonzaga on Monday night. The unbeaten Zags defeated No. 1 Duke to the win the Maui Invitational this week, with the new top 25 polls set to be released on Monday afternoon.