PDF Box Score

MACOMB, Ill. – North Dakota State's Grant Nelson finished with 35 points and 16 rebounds, but Western Illinois beat the Bison men's basketball team 79-60 in the Summit League opener for both schools on Monday evening.
 
Nelson set new career-highs in both points and rebounds. 
 
NDSU fought its way back from a 10-point deficit to get within one at 44-43 with 12 minutes remaining. The Leathernecks pieced together an 18-8 run over the next four minutes to take control.
 
Junior guard Boden Skunberg added 10 points and a pair of steals for the Bison.
 
Western Illinois shot 48 percent for the game and made 10-of-22 (45 percent) from three-point range. The Bison made 44 percent overall, but only 1-of-17 from beyond the arc.

Nelson's totals were the most points by a Bison since January 2018 (Paul Miller, Cameron Hunter), and the most rebounds by a Bison since December 2014 (Dexter Werner).
 
The Bison will play at St. Thomas on Wednesday night in St. Paul, Minn.