The North Dakota State men’s basketball team won on the road in double overtime against Western Illinois on Thursday. They were able to squeak out a three-point victory, winning 84-81. 

The Bison went into halftime up 37-33 before starting the second half with a 12-0 run, putting them up 49-33. The Leathernecks were able to chip away at the Bison lead, however, tying the game 53-53 with eight minutes remaining. 

Western Illinois’s Colton Sandage made a pair of free throws to tie the game 68-68 with 20 seconds left to send the game into overtime.  

Tyree Eady was able to make a clutch bucket in the overtime period to bring the game back to a draw at 76-76 with 32 seconds left. 

The Herd found themselves down 81-78 midway through the second overtime period before they went on to score the final six points of the game. Sam Griesel gave NDSU the lead with 1:22 remaining before Grant Nelson made the final basket of the game to give the Herd an 84-81 lead.  

The Leathernecks had multiple shots to prolong the game but missed three three-point attempts in the final 30 seconds. 

Griesel led the way for the Herd, scoring 23 points to go along with nine rebounds and three assists while playing 47 of the 50 possible minutes. Eady added a scoring punch as well, scoring a career-high, 22 points while grabbing five rebounds.  

With the win, NDSU has now won seven of their last eight games and owns a record of 18-8 while improving to 10-4 in Summit League play. The Herd remains in third place in the Summit League standings, 3.5 games behind first-place South Dakota State.  

Up next, NDSU has a road matchup against St. Thomas on Saturday, where they will look to sweep the season series against the Tommies.