Jacobson, Miller Reach Milestone as Bison Down Pioneers

A.J. Jacobson and Paul Miller score 1,000 career points at NDSU

FARGO, N.D. (NDSU Athletics) – The North Dakota State men’s basketball team raced out to a 16-2 lead and never trailed on its way to a convincing 81-63 victory over Denver on Saturday afternoon at the Scheels Center.

NDSU remained atop The Summit League with the win, improving to 9-3 in league play and 17-8 overall. Third-place Denver fell to 15-10 overall and 7-5 in the league.

NDSU juniors A.J. Jacobson and Paul Miller both surpassed 1,000 career points with three-pointers in the first half. Jacobson became the 33rd player in NDSU history to reach 1,000, and Miller was the 34th.

Junior point guard Khy Kabellis led a balanced Bison scoring attack with 17 points. Dexter Werner finished with 14 points and nine rebounds for NDSU. Jacobson scored 14, Miller added 13, and Carlin Dupree tallied 10 points.

Denver ranked 10th in the country in three-point percentage entering the game, but NDSU limited the Pioneers to 5-for-25 shooting from beyond the arc. The Bison posted an emphatic 44-31 rebounding advantage in the contest.

NDSU bolted out to a 16-2 lead less than seven minutes into the game, but Denver responded with a 15-2 run to make it 18-17 with 7:29 left in the half.

The Bison held a 35-30 advantage at halftime. NDSU opened the second half with a 10-2 run, keyed by six points from sophomore forward Dylan Miller, and led by double digits for the remainder of the game.

NDSU shot 45 percent from the field and 82 percent from the free throw line (23-of-28) in the contest. Freshman Tyson Ward matched his season-high with eight rebounds.

NDSU travels to Fort Wayne for a 6 p.m. CT game on Wednesday, Feb. 15.