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COLUMBIA, S.C. – The North Dakota State men's basketball team opened up an early lead over No. 1-ranked and No. 1 overall seed Duke on Friday night, but the Blue Devils ultimately rallied in the second half to earn the NCAA Tournament first round victory, 85-63.
 
Junior guard Vinnie Shahid scored 20 points to lead the Bison, and sophomore Jordan Horn added 11 off the NDSU bench. Sophomore Rocky Kreuser posted seven rebounds and two blocks.
 
Duke was led by 26 points and 14 rebounds from freshman RJ Barrett. Freshman Zion Williamson scored 25 points.
 
Five minutes into the game, NDSU led 12-5 after eight quick points from Shahid and a pair of buckets from Sam Griesel and Tyson Ward.
 
Duke put together an 8-0 run to go up 20-16, but NDSU responded to hold a 25-24 advantage following a three-point play by Shahid with 2:34 left in the first half.
 
The Blue Devils scored seven straight points to take the lead back, and NDSU trailed the rest of the way.
 
Duke outscored the Bison 25-6 in the first seven minutes of the second half.
 
Duke shot 51 percent for the game and limited the Bison to 36-percent shooting. NDSU made 8-of-29 from three-point range, finishing the year with a school record 332 threes.
 
The Bison finished the season with a record of 19-16. Shahid and Kreuser both set an NDSU record with 35 games started in a season.
 
It was NDSU's sixth Division I NCAA Tournament game, making appearances in 2009, 2014, 2015 and 2019.