Men’s Basketball: NDSU Tops ORU With Strong Second Half

Bison improve to 2-2 in the Summit League

FARGO, N.D. (NDSU Athletics) – The North Dakota State men’s basketball team shot better than 50 percent overall and from three-point range, using a strong second half to pull away for an 82-64 victory over Oral Roberts on Saturday afternoon at the Scheels Center.

The Bison improved to 10-8 overall and 2-2 in Summit League play, while ORU fell to 7-13 overall and 3-2 in the league.

NDSU senior Paul Miller scored 20 points to lead the Bison – his fifth consecutive game with at least 20 points. Redshirt freshman guard Cameron Hunter put up 17 points and six assists for the Bison.

Sophomore Tyson Ward finished with 13 points and seven rebounds, and senior A.J. Jacobson had 12 points and eight rebounds.

ORU was led by a game-high 23 points and eight rebounds from sophomore forward Emmanuel Nzekwesi.

NDSU closed the first half with a 10-2 run to lead 39-36 at halftime. The Bison ran the lead to 15 at 56-41 just over eight minutes into the second half, but the Golden Eagles slowly chipped away. ORU put together an 8-0 run to pull within five at 65-60 with 5:50 remaining.

The Bison outscored Oral Roberts 17-4 over the final five minutes, with Miller scoring seven and Hunter scoring six in the closing stretch for NDSU.

NDSU shot 55 percent for the game and made 10-of-19 (53 percent) from beyond the arc.

NDSU hosts North Dakota in non-conference action on Tuesday, Jan. 16, at 7 p.m. in the Scheels Center.