FORT WAYNE, Ind. -- Luis Jacobo scored 20 points and IPFW was near perfect from the free throw line in beating North Dakota State 82-71 in a Summit League conference opener for both schools on Thursday night.

Steve Forbes added 14 for IPFW.

North Dakota State (11-5, 0-1 Summit) trailed Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne (13-5, 1-0) by as many as 15 points in the first half but narrowed the deficit to 38-31 at the break.

The Bison edged back to 62-59 with just over five minutes to play following a three point play by Lawrence Alexander. But that was as close as the Bison would get.

IPFW made 12 of 12 free throws in the final three minutes to pull off the 11 point victory margin. The Mastodons were 20 of 21 from the penalty line for the night and shot 52 percent from the field.

Marshall Bjorklund led Bison scorers with 19 points.