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News
News
VAUDREUIL; BULLDOGS STUN NO. 13 MAVERICKS 73-65
Saturday, January 31, 2009
As the beginning of the college basketball season rolled around last October, University of Minnesota Duluth head coach Gary Holquist picked senior center John Vaudreuil as a captain because he knew he was a leader.
Well; Saturday night at Romano Gymnasiyum, against one of the top-ranked school's in the country, Vaudreuil did just that, as he carried the Bulldogs on his back to the biggest win of the season.
In a highly anticipated Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference clash between a pair of top squads, Vaudreuil racked up game-highs in both points and rebounds, as the captain collected an eye-popping double-double consisting of 28 points and 13 boards in guiding UMD (15-8 overall; 9-4 NSIC) to an exciting 73-65 upset victory over No. 13-ranked Minnesota State University-Mankato.
After the opening, the Mavericks (18-5; 9-4) sank the first jumper of the game, as they jumped to a 2-0 lead just 15 seconds into the conference contest.
It would be the last time MSU would be able to say they led, because for the rest of the ball game, it was all Bulldogs.
With a rowdy student section on hand, UMD scored 23 of the next 31 points, as roughly halfway through the first frame, the host Bulldogs had a 23-10 advantage over the Mavericks. The final 11 minutes of actions saw both UMD and MSU trade buckets with each other, as when halftime rolled around, the Bulldogs held a 37-23 lead.
After the break, the tough-Maverick club battled right back, as they used a 22-10 run cut UMD's lead to just points, the closest they had been since the first minute of the game. However, after the big-run by MSU, the Bulldogs - over the last 13 minutes of the affair - used their hard-nosed style of play, along with some clutch jumpers and solid free-throw shooting, to burry the visiting Mavericks en route to the stunning upset win.
Along with his impressive double-double, Vaudreuil - who logged in a solid 31 minutes on the floor - shot a stellar 53 percent (9-for-17) from the field, while the Bloomington, Minn. native knocked down 10 of his 15 free-throws (67 percent), blocked a shot and just turned the ball over once the entire night.
Senior guard Steve Klass also had a big performance for the Maroon and Gold, as the fellow captain tallied 16 points by nailing a game-leading three 3-pointers - one more than MSU - while he collected a pair of rebounds, steals and assists in the huge conference victory.
Junior forward Brian Sykora also totaled 10 rebounds and eight points on the evening, while both junior guards Jordan Schade and Ron White dispatched six points for the Bulldogs in their win over the Mavericks.
In total, UMD - who currently sits in a tie for third place in the NSIC - shot 73 percent (19-for-26) from the charity stripe, 42 percent (25-for-59) from the floor and 31 percent (4-for-13) from behind the arc on the night, while they out-rebounded MSU on the glass, and turned the ball over just seven times, compared to the Mavericks 11 on the evening.
The Bulldogs will hit the road, as they will be in more grueling-NSIC action next weekend, when they clash with St. Cloud State (14-6; 9-4) Friday night (Feb. 6) at 8:00 p.m. and collide with Concordia-St. Paul (9-11; 7-6) the following Saturday night (Feb. 7) at 8 o'clock - both a pair teams UMD knocked off when they first met.
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