Basketball - Men's - News

BULLDOGS CRUISE TO THIRD STRAIGHT WIN WITH 67-58 VICTORY OVER UPPER IOWA

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Less than three minutes into Saturday night's Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference clash between the University of Minnesota Duluth and Upper Iowa University, the visiting Bulldogs had tallied all ten points on the scoreboard.

It was after the quick start, that UMD head coach Gary Holquist and his Bulldogs would roll on to their third straight victory and move into a fourth place tie in the always-grueling NSIC.

UMD used their fast-paced offensive attack, as well as they hard-nosed defense to knock off the host Peacocks 67-58 before a rowdy crowd of 450 fans at Dorman Gymnasium in Fayette, Iowa.

As the Bulldogs (18-10 overall; 12-6 NSIC) started the conference contest quickly leading 10 zip, it was Upper Iowa (5-20; 4-14) who battled back to score 31 of the next 51 points, as when both teams headed to the locker rooms, it was the Peacocks who found themselves leading 31-30.

After the break, both squads continued to slug it out in the second half, as just four minutes into the frame, the game was deadlocked at 38-38. However, UMD used an array of jump shots and free-throws the pull away from Upper Iowa and ease to the nine-point conference victory.

The Bulldogs were guided by their man in the middle, senior center John Vaudreuil, as the captain poured in a game-leading 23 points, while he snagged a team-high seven rebounds in the win. UMD's leading scorer on the season also knocked down six of his 13 attempts (46 percent) from the field and drained a game-leading 11 shots from the charity stripe to pace the Maroon and Gold.

Vaudreuil was also supported by his fellow teammates, senior guard Steve Klass, junior forward Brian Sykora and junior guard Ron White, as Klass nailed a team-high three 3-points en route to scoring 13 points, while White racked up 12 points and Sykora chipped in 11 in the Bulldog win.

After the final whistle, it was UMD who found themselves shooting higher percentages from both the floor and behind the arc than the host Peacocks, as they drained 21 of their 44 shots (48 percent) from the field and sank three of their eight attempts (38 percent) from downtown.

The Bulldogs also took better care of the basketball, as they committed just six turnovers, compared to Upper Iowa's 13 mishaps, while they also handed off more assists and nabbed more steals than the Peacocks.

With just a pair of games left on the regular season, UMD looks to continue their winning ways during the most important time of the year, as they travel to Bemidji State (8-17; 6-12) on Wednesday (Feb. 25) at 8:00 p.m., before they close out their schedule the following Saturday evening (Feb. 28) on Senior Day, when they host Augustana (S.D.) (18-7; 12-6) at 5 o'clock.

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