David DuBois led Western Illinois with 24 points and Josh Rivers contributed 16, but North Dakota State's Ben Woodside's 26 points led three players in double digits as the Bison overpowered the Leathernecks, 81-64, at the Bison Sports Arena, Saturday.
"I want to credit Saul (Phillips, NDSU head coach) and his team," said Western head coach Jim Molinari. "They played tremendously, they were very sharp on the offensive end and defensively they did a good job making things hard.
"This is a hard place for anyone to come in and win," he added. "We were disappointed in the way we didn't give them much resistance, but I think we played a team that the coaches did a great job preparing."
The Leathernecks (6-10, 3-2 The Summit League) held their only lead, 9-8, with 13:39 in the first half. The Bison (10-5, 5-1 The Summit League) went on an 8-0 run capped off by a three pointer from Brett Winkelman at 10:24, to take over 16-9.
Over the next 3:21 Western closed in to a four-point deficit with a shot from downtown by Rivers, 20-16. Woodside responded with a 7-0 run, which included a pair of free throws and a three pointer. Five three-point shots ended the final 4:29 with Mike Nelson taking credit for two of NDSU's threes and DuBois and David Nurse taking two. Woodside hit a final three at the buzzer to take NDSU into halftime with a 38-26 lead.
Nurse opened the second half with a three pointer at 18:06. After a pair of Bison layups, Rivers had Western's next six points, which brought the score within 10, 46-36, before the North Dakota State took off on a 26-6 run for its greatest lead, 72-44, with 8:24 remaining.
Seventeen points is the closest the Leathernecks would come for the rest of the game.
Woodside, who leads The Summit League in scoring, had three buckets from behind the arc and also led in assists with seven.
"Ben is a great player," said Molinari. "He can play at any level. He is very complete - he can score off the dribble, go to the basket and make threes. I call him an ABC player. He is a competitor."
Behind Woodside in league scoring is Winkelman, who was held below his 19.1 average points per game, to 13 points. The third NDSU player in double digits was Nelson with 13 points, making two three pointers. Dejuan Flowers led the Bison in rebounding with seven and Lucas Moorman contributed six off the boards.
"I think basketball comes down to if the offense plays harder than the defense, they are going to be very effective," said Molinari. "The offense played at a harder pace. I give them all the credit. They are very experienced and showed real physical strength. North Dakota State was impressive."
North Dakota State hit 31-of-57 (54.4 percent) shots from the field and Western hit 24-of-52 (46.2 percent). The Leathernecks took advantage of all seven free throw opportunities by shooting 100 percent, while the Bison converted 10-of-16 (62.5 percent) from the line.
Behind DuBois and Rivers in scoring was Rodney Williams, Jr., who set a career best with nine points. On the boards, Ceola Clark tied his career best with eight rebounds and Tommie Tyler also tied a career best in rebounding with five.
The Leathernecks return home for a pair of Summit League games, Thursday against Centenary and close out the week, January 17, against Oral Roberts. Both games are slated for 7 p.m. starts at Waste Management Court in Western Hall.