Ward's double-double leads NDSU past Western Illinois

FARGO, N.D. (AP) 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