FARGO, N.D.-Kevin Ford (Portland, Ore.) scored 18 points and grabbed 12 rebounds and Oral Roberts went 5-of-6 from the free throw line in the final 22 seconds as the Golden Eagles picked up a 65-59 Summit League victory over North Dakota State, Saturday at Bison Sports Arena.

Ford was 6-of-12 from the field and 6-of-8 from the free throw line, adding four assists and three blocks in 34 minutes in helping ORU (3-1, 8-7) to just its third win away from home and its first win in Fargo.

ORU led 59-52 on a layup by Dominique Morrison (Kansas City, Mo.) with 1:28 remaining, but North Dakota State (2-2, 5-8) trimmed the lead down to 60-59 with 23 seconds left. But Ken Holdman (Tulsa, Okla.) and Morrison came up big at the line to seal the victory.

Leading 31-23 at halftime ORU twice stretched its lead to as many as 11 points, the last time coming when a pair of Ford free throws made it 44-33 with 13:02 left.

The Bison closed to within 47-45 on back-to-back three-pointers by Josh Vaughan, then briefly took the lead when Eric Carlson's jumper made it 48-47 with 6:51 to play.

The lead changed hands four times over the next two minutes before a Morrison trey from the top of the key gave ORU the lead for good at 54-52 with 4:07 left.

A layup and a free throw by Michael Craion (Kansas City, Mo.) extended the lead to 57-52 with 2:25 remaining and Morrison hit a layup for a 59-52 lead.

The Golden Eagles shot just 35.2 percent from the field but owned a 44-39 rebounding advantage and went 22-for-33 from the free throw line.

North Dakota State shot 36.1 percent from the field including 3-of-9 from three-point range.

Morrison finished with 15 points and eight rebounds while Craion added 12 points and 10 boards. Holdman chipped in 11 points, scoring 10 in the first half.

Carlson led NDSU with 19 points.

The Golden Eagles next host Oakland, 7:05 p.m., Thursday at Mabee Center.

--ORU--