FARGO, N.D. – Cooper Neese recorded a career high 30 points but that was not enough as it was a tale of two halves in Fargo as the North Dakota State Bison rallied from an 11-point deficit to defeat Indiana State, 77-70, Monday night inside the Scheels Center.
 
Neese's career night came on 11-of-22 shooting, including five 3-pointers as the redshirt junior willed Indiana State (4-6, 0-1 MVC) on the offensive end of the floor. Newcomer Xavier Bledson was the only other Sycamore to score in double-digits as the guard dropped in 16 points on 5-for-10 shooting while also picking up five assists and a pair of rebounds.
 
After falling behind 5-0 to the Bison (7-4), Indiana State came back with a barrage of scoring led by Neese who tallied a team high 14 points in the first half of action. He, along with Bledson and Cameron Crawford ignited the rally for the Sycamores who scored 11 of the next 16 points to help ISU to its first lead at 11-10 five minutes into action.
 
Two minutes later, ISU reeled off a 9-0 run in just 1:26 to go up 22-14. Neese and Larry came up with back-to-back layups before Bledson connected on a 3-pointer and Neese capped off the run with a backdoor layup to cap off the run.
 
ISU ended the half on a 10-4 run to take a 43-34 lead into the locker room. ISU outscored the Bison 26-12 in the pain in the first 20 minutes of play, while scoring eight points on six NDSU turnovers.
 
Trailing 55-44 with 16:04 remaining to play, the Bison began to chip away at the Sycamore lead. NDSU was able to go deep into the shot clock and more often than not, convert a basket which slowed the ISU offensive pace. North Dakota State was able to feed off its offensive output on the defensive end, holding Indiana State to 34.6 percent (9-for-26) in the final 20 minutes after ISU shot over 50 percent in the first half.
 
NDSU's Sam Griesel was instrumental in the Bison comeback as he dropped 17 of his 25 points in the second half, including four points during an 11-0 run for NDSU that put the home team on top for good at 60-57.
 
Neese scored 11 of ISU's final 13 points including two contested 3-pointers late to pull ISU to within three points at 73-70 at the 1:22 mark, but an Indiana State foul with 27.3 seconds remaining put the Bison at the charity stripe to close out the game -- a place where NDSU was 12-of-13 throughout the game.
 
 
The Sycamores return home for a pair of games next weekend beginning Saturday (Dec. 18) with Alabama A&M followed by a game with Oakland City on Monday (Dec. 20). Fans wishing to purchase tickets can do so by clicking HERE, by calling 877-ISU-TIXS, or by visiting the Hulman Center Ticket Office.
 
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