The University of Minnesota Duluth men's basketball team has captured its first North Central Conference victories of the 2006-07 season by virtue of a perfect 2-0 homestand last week. Now, the Bulldogs will look to end a five-game losing streak on the road when they travel to Grand Forks, N.D., for Saturday (Feb. 10) afternoon's confrontation with the University of North Dakota. Tip-off time at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (3,064) is slated for 4 p.m.

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UMD-NORTH DAKOTA GAME NOTES

THE SERIES: UMD (11-12 overall, 2-6 NCC) has collected five wins in 20 all-time engagements with North Dakota (10-12 overall, 2-5 NCC). Since joining the NCC circuit in 2004-05, the Bulldogs are winless (0-2) in road assignments facing the Fighting Sioux. The two teams split a pair of meetings last winter with the visiting team coming up on the short side of things. UMD last grabbed a victory in Grand Forks on Dec. 13, 2003 -- a 94-91 overtime triumph -- and UND is 11-2 (.846) when protecting its home court from the Bulldogs.

When the two North Central Conference clubs last played in Grand Forks, then-senior Evan Lindahl bucketed 27 points to help UND post a 74-62 win on Feb. 25, 2006. Three Bulldogs scored in double-figures led by senior John Emerson, who chipped in 15 points. Bryan Foss collected a double-double with 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. UND had a 41-27 halftime advantage in the contest, which was held in front of the largest crowd ever assembled (3,192) at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center since the facility opened its doors on Aug. 24, 2003.

LAST WEEK: In a hard-fought North Central Conference duel last Saturday at Romano Gym, UMD defeated Augustana College 63-59.

The Bulldogs were trailing 41-39 at the 11:24 mark when freshman point guard Jordan Schade swished a 3-pointer to give UMD at least a share of the lead for good. Bryan Foss tallied 22 points and nine rebounds while Schade added a career-high 13 points for UMD.

On Feb. 1 at Romano Gym, a spirited effort from the Bulldogs led to a 75-63 victory over No. 4 Minnesota State University, Mankato.

Holding onto a 52-49 lead with 9:47 left in regulation, the Bulldogs embarked on a 23-10 run that basically served as the final blow to the visitor's chances. Foss had 21 points and 12 rebounds. Jordan Nuness pitched in 17 points while Ryan Breidenbach and John Vaudreuil each scored 12 for UMD. The Bulldogs hadn't won since Dec. 29 and entered the contest against MSU-Mankato with a 0-6 record in the NCC.

UND grabbed its first NCC road win of 2006-07 after defeating St. Cloud State at Halenbeck Hall 75-72 on Feb. 1. Junior forward Emmanuel Little tallied 20 points and pulled down a game-high seven rebounds while freshman guard Travis Bledsoe contributed 15 points.

The Fighting Sioux begin a three-game homestand by hosting Augustana on Thursday night.

THE COACHES: Now in his ninth season as head coach at UMD, Gary Holquist will again lead the way for the Bulldogs. Holquist has produced no less than six winning seasons in seven years and one Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference title (2001-02), in addition to a pair of NSIC Tournament championships and back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances (2001-02 and 2002-03). Holquist came to UMD as former Bulldog bench boss Dale Race's top assistant coach and has guided UMD to 12 national tournament appearances.

Brian Jones in his his first season as head coach at North Dakota. Jones is the 18th coach employed by UND and just the third in the last 36 years. Prior to UND, Jones worked for the University of Iowa basketball program.

PRESEASON PICKS/RANKINGS: UMD was picked to finish fourth according to the NCC Preseason Media Poll after ending last season in a fourth-place tie with a 5-7 conference record.

North Dakota was pegged to finish sixth in the same poll after completing last season with an 4-8 conference mark.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: UMD senior forward Bryan Foss was named NCC Player of the Week on Monday after helping guide the Bulldogs to home wins over MSU-Mankato and Augustana last week. During those two games, the Plymouth, Minn., native averaged 21.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists. Against the Mavericks on Feb. 1, Foss bagged his conference-leading sixth double-double of the season with 21 points and 12 boards (UND's Emmanuel Little is second among fellow NCC conference members with five double-double's entering Thursday's action). Foss, who has only been held to single-digit scoring once this season -- a nine-point outing versus Nebraska-Omaha on Jan. 13 -- leads the NCC rebounding (8.0 RPG) and ranks third in scoring production (17.6 PPG) through 23 games played. Foss is the second Bulldog to be named the conference's player of the week because John Vaudreuil turned the same trick back on Dec. 18.

ROAD WEARY: The Bulldogs, who are a mere 1-7 on the road in 2006-07, have lost their last six NCC regular season games played away from Duluth dating back to last winter's victory over Augustana in Sioux Falls, S.D., on Feb. 1.

BULLDOG BITS: Since inserting junior forward Ryan Meissner into the starting line-up prior to the game with MSU-Mankato on Feb. 1, UMD has yet to lose (2-0) ... Meissner averaged 30 minutes of action in those two wins and 3.5 PPG. Redshirt freshman point guard Jordan Schade will be fresh off his best collegiate performance offensively when he hits the court on Saturday ... The 5-foot-8 Schade put up a career-high 13 points and hit four field goals on Feb. 3 against Augustana at Romano Gym. A few of Matt Hockett's top performances have come at UND's expense .... Hockett, a senior forward who set career-bests in points (11) and rebounds (10) earlier this season, averaged 8.0 PPG and 8.5 RPG in the two meetings with the Fighting Sioux in 2005-06. As a collective unit, UMD is the NCC's No. 1 rebounding team in conference play.