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News
News
SYKORA'S DOUBLE-DOUBLE GUIDES BULLDOGS PAST BEAVERS 87-79
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Not many would think that University of Minnesota Duluth junior forward Brian Sykora would top his 23-point, 10-rebound performance in a victory against Bemidji State a year ago.
But Saturday night, he did just that.
The captain led all players in both scoring and rebounding, as he poured in 31 points and grabbed 13 boards – another double-double – to lead the Bulldogs to an exciting 87-79 win over Bemidji State, before a packed house of nearly 1,400 fans at Romano Gymnasium.
The conference affair started quickly, as UMD (14-7 overall; 8-3 NSIC) ran off to an 18-11 advantage halfway through the opening frame, only to find themselves leading the Beavers 46-30 when the teams headed for the locker rooms.
However, after the break, Bemidji State (7-11; 5-6) came out hot, knocking down 10 of the first 12 points of the frame, slicing the deficit to eight. But the Bulldogs fought back to take a comfortable 19-point lead with just roughly eight minutes left on the clock.
Or so they thought.
Within the next seven minutes, the Beavers jolted on an 18-5 run to cut UMD’s lead to 73-67, before the Bulldogs buried an eye-popping 14 of their final 16 shots from the charity stripe in the final minute of the contest, to close the door on Bemidji State.
Sykora – who leads UMD in both scoring and rebounding on the season – played a major role in the closing minutes, as he was a perfect 7-for-7 from the free-throw line, while he drained an amazing game-leading 75 percent (12-for-16) of his shots from the field in logging a game-high 36 minutes on the hardwood.
The maroon and gold were also guided by junior point guard Jordan Schade, who racked up 12 points, handed off a game-leading eight assists and sank six of his seven (86 percent) attempts from the charity stripe in the final minutes, while junior forward Steve Duncan provided UMD with 12 points off the bench.
Bulldog senior guard Steve Klass tallied a game-high three shots from behind the arc, en route to a 10-point evening, while senior center John Vaudreuil posted seven points and sophomore guard Rhett McDonald dispatched six in the conference victory.
In total, UMD – who snapped a two-game losing streak with the win – shot an impressive 78 percent (21-for-27) from the charity line, a jaw-dropping 55 percent (29-for-53) from the floor and a stellar 38 percent (8-for-21) from downtown on the night, all of which were higher than the visiting Beavers.
The Bulldogs – who are currently atop the always-grueling NSIC – will stick in the northland, as they hit the hardwood again next weekend against a pair of solid conference foes. Friday night (Jan. 30), UMD will welcome in Southwest Minnesota State (14-5; 7-3) at 8:00 p.m., while they will clash with No. 15-ranked Minnesota State (16-4; 7-3) the following Saturday (Jan. 31) at 8:00 p.m. from Romano Gymnasium.
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