On Saturday afternoon, the University of Minnesota Duluth men's basketball team took an important step up the North Central Conference ladder.
Before a gathering of 3,019 at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center, UMD defeated the University of North Dakota 73-68. The victory also marks the first time the Bulldogs have won in Grand Forks, N.D., since entering NCC play in 2004-05.
UMD (12-12 overall, 3-6 NCC) extended its winning streak to three games and has moved its way from the very bottom of the conference standings into the middle of the pack.
Bryan Foss, the reigning NCC Player of the Week, scored 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds (six defensive) for the Bulldogs, who won on the road for the first time in 2007. UMD 53.1 percent from the field -- 61.1 percent in the second half -- and remain undefeated since adding junior forward
Ryan Meissner to the starting line-up before the game against Minnesota State University, Mankato on Feb. 1.
UMD shooting guard
Jordan Nuness, who only played just two minutes in the opening half after picking up a pair of personal fouls, scored all 13 of his points in the second stanza. With 15 seconds to go and the Bulldogs nursing a 71-68 lead, redshirt freshman point guard
Jordan Schade calmly knocked down a pair of three throws to put the game out of reach. Schade was playing in place of senior point guard
Ryan Breidenbach, who had fouled out.
During the first 20 minutes of action, the Bulldogs' bench -- led by nine points from senior forward
Matt Hockett -- outscored the Fighting Sioux reserves 17-0 as UMD claimed a 36-30 halftime advantage. Hockett ended up posting a career-high total of 15 points.
Mike Gutter and Travis Bledsoe both scored 18 points to lead North Dakota, which shot 57.1 percent from the floor and tossed in 28 points from the painted area. The Fighting Sioux's Emmanuel Little, who -- like Foss -- has posted six double-doubles this season, tallied ten points and pulled down a game-high eight rebounds.
Three teams -- the Bulldogs, Fighting Sioux (11-13 overall) and Augustana College (16-8 overall) -- are now tied for fourth place in the NCC with three league games left to go for each of them. The fourth-place finisher earns the right to host a NCC Wells Fargo Finals tournament game at home on Feb. 28.
UMD is idle for the next week and will return to conference competition on Saturday (Feb. 17) at the University of South Dakota. Tip-off at the DakotaDome in Vermillion, S.D., is set for 4 p.m. The Coyotes beat the Bulldogs 68-62 on Jan. 25 at Romano Gymnasium.
CURRENT NCC STANDINGS:1. South Dakota (18-5, 7-1 NCC)
2. Minnesota State-Mankato (22-3, 8-2 NCC)
3. St. Cloud State (17-8, 6-4 NCC)
T4. Augustana College (16-8, 3-6 NCC)
T4. Minnesota Duluth (12-12, 3-6 NCC)T4. North Dakota (11-13, 3-6 NCC)
7. Nebraska-Omaha (11-12, 2-7 NCC)
Note: No. 1 team gets a first-round bye in NCC tournament
