North Dakota State Bison vs Marquette Golden Eagles Match Player Stats On Dec 20, 2019

Markus Howard scored 32 points and Sacar Anim added 14 as Marquette held off a game challenge from visiting North Dakota State to earn a 82-68 nonconference victory on Friday.

Koby McEwen added 12 points for the Golden Eagles (9-2), who won their fourth consecutive game and have one nonconference matchup remaining before Big East Conference play opens Jan. 1 at Creighton.

Howard, and his brother Jordan of Central Arkansas, stand as the highest-scoring brother duo in NCAA history with 4,738 points, passing the duo of Stephen and Seth Curry, who combined for 4,736.

Tyson Ward scored 25 points and Rocky Kreuser added 11 as the Bison (8-5) saw their three-game winning streak come to an end. North Dakota State will move into Summit League play on Dec. 29 at Denver.

Marquette led by as many as 10 points in the first half before the Bison closed the gap. The score was tied 36-36 before Anim made a jumper inside of a minute remaining and Marquette took a 38-36 lead into the break.

North Dakota State took a 39-38 lead to open the second half after a 3-pointer from Vinnie Shahid, but the Golden Eagles went on a 7-0 run to lead 45-39 and never trailed again.

Howard, who entered second in the nation in scoring at 25.2 points per game, scored 14 points in the first half when Marquette was just 38.7 percent from the field (12 of 31). The Golden Eagles shot 42.6 percent in the game.

With the Bison still within three at 63-60 with 8:26 remaining, Howard scored five points in a span of 22 seconds to give the Golden Eagles more breathing room at 68-60. Marquette improved to 6-0 at home this season.

North Dakota State's defense gave up 70 points for just the third time this season. The Bison, who entered fourth in the nation with just 9.9 turnovers per game, turned the ball over 10 times.

Marquette improved to 4-1 in the all-time matchup against North Dakota State. The Bison had won the previous meeting 64-60 in 2006 at Milwaukee.

--Field Level Media