Ward's double-double leads NDSU past Western Illinois

FARGO, N.D. -- Tyson Ward had 17 points and 13 rebounds to lead six North Dakota State players in double figures as the Bison beat Western Illinois 85-69 on Thursday night.

Deng Geu added 14 points for the Bison (8-10, 2-2 Summit League). Sam Griesel scored 12 while Rocky Kreuser and Vinnie Shahid scored 13 apiece.

Kobe Webster had 17 points and Isaac Johnson added 15 points for the Leathernecks (6-11, 1-3).

North Dakota state led by 11 at halftime and soon went up by 20 after a 3-pointer by Kreuser and a fast-break layup by Ward. The Bison led by at least 16 the rest of the way and the lead peaked at 81-57 when Shahid hit a pair of free throws with 3:09 to go.

Western Illinois plays at North Dakota (7-9, 1-2) on Saturday. North Dakota State plays at Denver (5-14, 0-5) on Wednesday.

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Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights, http://www.automatedinsights.com/ap, using data from STATS LLC, https://www.stats.com