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OMAHA, Neb. – The North Dakota State men's basketball team scored 50 points in the second half to pull away for an 86-78 road victory over Omaha inside Baxter Arena on Wednesday night. It was the third road win for the Bison in the span of a week.
 
NDSU improved to 17-7 overall and 8-2 in Summit League play, matching its best conference start through 10 games since the 2014-15 season. The Bison are tied in first place in the league standings.
 
Bison senior Vinnie Shahid finished with 24 points, and senior Tyson Ward had 22 points and nine rebounds. Senior guard Jared Samuelson scored a season-high 16 points – with 13 coming in the second half – playing near his hometown of Gretna, Neb.
 
NDSU shot 54 percent for the game and made 11-of-25 (44 percent) from three-point range.
 
The first half saw six lead changes, with neither team leading by more than four points. It was tied 36-36 at halftime.
 
Leading 43-40 with 17 minutes remaining, NDSU went on a 9-2 run to go ahead 52-42. Ward scored three buckets in the paint, and then Samuelson hit a three-pointer to push the margin to 10.
 
Omaha pulled within three at 57-54 with 11 minutes left, but the Bison responded with three straight treys from Samuelson, Rocky Kreuser and Shahid. NDSU led 66-56 with 9:30 left.
 
Shahid topped 20 points for the sixth time in the past eight games.
 
NDSU shot 59 percent in the second half, making 6-of-12 from downtown.
 
The Bison return home to host Oral Roberts on Saturday at 1 p.m.