NDSU Men Storm Back to Beat Oral Roberts

Bison Trailed but 10 but win 81-71

FARGO, N.D. – The North Dakota State men’s basketball team trailed Oral Roberts by 13 points with 15 minutes remaining, but the Bison closed with a furious comeback to earn an 81-71 victory in Summit League play Wednesday night at the Scheels Center.

NDSU (15-6, 7-1) made nine of its final 10 shots to pull out the victory. In the final 13:54 of the game, the Bison outscored Oral Roberts 42-20.

Oral Roberts (7-15, 3-5) was led by 28 points and nine rebounds from junior forward Albert Owens, and the Golden Eagles shot 47.5 percent for the game.

With the 7-1 start in league play, the first-place Bison have matched their best eight-game start since joining The Summit League. NDSU also started 7-1 in the 2008-09 and 2012-13 seasons.

NDSU senior forward Dexter Werner scored all 19 of his points in the second half after playing only two minutes in the first half due to foul trouble. Freshman Tyson Ward filled the stat sheet for the Bison, racking up 12 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals.

The Golden Eagles led 53-41 with just over 13 minutes left in the game when a three-point play by Werner sparked an NDSU run that cut the deficit to four at 55-51 with 10:16 to play. In a two-minute stretch from 9:17 to 7:19 on the clock, the Bison got momentous three-pointers from Ward, Khy Kabellis and A.J. Jacobson to vault back into the lead at 62-60.

Leading 68-66 with less than three minutes remaining, Ward rifled a pass to Werner for a layup, grabbed a defensive rebound at the other end, and drilled a three-pointer to put NDSU up 73-66 with 1:58 left.

The Bison went 6-for-6 at the free throw line in the final minute.

It was the third consecutive game in which NDSU made at least 10 three-pointers. Senior Carlin Dupree made a career-high three from beyond the arc – all in the first half – and finished with 14 points.

The Bison play next on Wednesday, Feb. 1, at IUPUI in Indianapolis.