North Dakota State handles Western Illinois 61-48

Jan 16, 2015, 10:15 pm

FARGO, N.D. -- Lawrence Alexander had 17 points and North Dakota State had a huge advantage rebounding and at the foul line Friday to defeat Western Illinois 61-48.

The Bison (11-6, 4-1 Summit League) scored the first nine points of the game and led 33-25 at the half. The Leathernecks (7-10, 2-4) got within seven early in the second half when Kory Brown scored six straight points to start an 11-0 run. Paul Miller's 3-pointer at 10:08 pushed the lead to 52-34.

North Dakota State won the rebounding battle 42-27, including 18-7 on the offensive end, and made 16 of 23 free throws while Western Illinois was 2 of 3.

Brown finished with 11 points by going 7-9 from the line, and Miller had 10, hitting 4 of 5 from the field with two 3-pointers.

J.C. Fuller (21) and Dalan Ancrum (16) came off the bench to score career highs for Western Illinois.