The North Dakota State men’s basketball team won their regular-season finale on Saturday, beating North Dakota 79-53. The win makes NDSU winners in eight of their last 10 games against the team up north.

It was a wire-to-wire victory for the Herd, as they got out to an early lead and never trailed in the game. They jumped out to a 17-5 lead in the first 8:15 of the first half and took a 34-25 lead into halftime.

NDSU kicked off the start of the second half with a 14-0 run, pushing their lead to 23 points. They kept their foot on the gas as they led by at least 20 points the rest of the game.

It was a balanced attack on the offensive end, as four players scored in double figures. Grant Nelson led the team in scoring with 17 points and seven rebounds while going 4-5 from three-point range.

Rocky Kreuser finished with 10 points, seven rebounds and four assists, while Tyree Eady and Jarius Cook added 10 points each as well.

NDSU was able to share the rock as well, dishing out 17 assists in the game, their most since racking up 18 assists in a January matchup against St. Thomas.

After being disappointed with their defensive effort in their last game against Kansas City, the Bison bounced back with a dominant performance. They limited the Fighting Hawks to just 53 points, the lowest they have scored in a game since Dec. 3.

Additionally, they held North Dakota to just 34.5% shooting from the field and 31.6% from three.

With the win, NDSU finished the regular season with a record of 21-9 and 13-5 in Summit League play. With Oral Robert’s loss to South Dakota on Saturday, the Herd will finish in second place in the conference standings.

The Bison will be back in action next weekend as they will take on Denver in the first round of the Summit League Tournament. The Bison/Pioneer game is scheduled to tip-off at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 5 from the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, S.D.