The University of Minnesota Duluth men’s basketball team will head to Mankato, Minn. this Thursday (Feb. 7) for a North Central Conference game against Minnesota State University-Mankato. The opening tip-off is set for 8 p.m. at the Taylor Center on the MSU campus. The Bulldogs will then take on Augustana College in Sioux Falls, S.D. at 8 p.m. on Saturday (Feb. 9).

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UMD men's basketball notes for MSU and Augustana games



THE GAMES: The Bulldogs (8-13, 1-5 NCC) and Mavericks (16-5, 5-1 NCC) will wrap-up their season series when they take to the court this Thursday. MSU dispatched UMD 92-72 back on Jan. 10 at UMD's Romano Gymnasium. The Bulldogs will also wrap-up their series with AC when the two squads meet on Saturday. UMD suffered a 63-53 loss at Romano Gym back on Jan. 17.

MSU-MANKATO NOTES: The NCC leading Mavericks went 1-1 this week and suffered their first league loss of the season...MSU defeated the University of North Dakota 75-56 on Thursday before suffering an 80-61 blowout to No. 4-ranked University of South Dakota...Senior center Atila Santos averaged 19.5 points and 14.0 rebounds per game in the two games last week to earn NCC player of the week honors...He notched a career-high 18 boards against USD, an NCC best this season...Jake Morrow leads the Mavs in scoring this season with a 15.1 ppg average and Santos is right behind him with a 15.0 ppg average.

AUGUSTANA NOTES: The Vikings pulled of an 89-86 win over then No. 20-ranked University of Nebraska-Omaha on Thursday but dropped a 76-72 decision to the University of North Dakota on Saturday...Corey McIntosh has scored over 30 points in four games this season...McIntosh has a 21.3 ppg average in seven NCC games to lead conference play in scoring...With one more win, the Augies will have the most single-season win total since their 1988-89 squad went 22-6.

BULLDOG NOTES: Junior forward Brian Sykora recorded his fifth double-double of the season by scoring a career-high 27 points and pulled down 14 rebounds but wasn’t able to sneak past No. 4-ranked University of South Dakota as the Bulldogs fell 71-61 last Thursday...Senior guard Jordan Nuness chipped in 21 points and added four boards and three assists during his 37 minutes of play....Sophomore guard Steve Duncan was the only other Bulldog player besides Sykora and Nuness to score in double figures as he added 10 points...Both squads were near even in shooting as UMD shot 40 percent from the field while USD shot 41 percent...The Bulldogs were out rebounded 39-36 and forced into nine turnovers while the Coyotes committed 10 of their own.

HIS SCORING OUTPUT IS ONE OF THE NATION'S BEST: Nuness is scoring at 19.1 ppg clip which places him at No. 34 in the NCAA Division II in scoring. In NCC play, Nuness is No. 2 with a 19.7 ppg average.

MAKING A STATEMENT: Sykora is No. 4 out of all NCC players with a 16.4 ppg average and is No. 6 in league games for scoring with 16.7 ppg.

A FORCE FROM BEHIND THE ARC: Nuness is third in Div. II in three-point field goals per game (4.0). He has 83 threys in 21 games this season.

ANOTHER DOUBLE-DOUBLE: Sykora has five double-doubles. His latest came in the form of 27 points and 14 rebounds against South Dakota on Jan. 31.

I GOT IT: Sykora is the top Bulldog rebounder and is No. 3 out of NCC players with an 8.1 rpg average. He is second in conference play with a 9.7 rpg average in six games.

PASSING THE BALL ALONG: Senior Ryan Meissner currently has 78 assists in 21 games for a 3.71 assists per game average. He is No. 6 out all players from NCC schools in that category this season.

ARE YOU SURE YOU HAVE IT? Meissner is averaging 1.67 steals per game. He has 35 total steals and is No. 5 out of all NCC players in that category.

3-POINT PERCENTAGE: UMD's three-point percentage of .411 is No. 2 out of all league members in all games played.

PRESEASON NCC POLL: UMD was picked to finish fourth in the NCC media poll. The same position they finished league play last season.

HEAD COACH GARY HOLQUIST: With hard work and determination, Gary Holquist has molded the University of Minnesota Duluth men’s basketball program into a regional power during his 10 seasons at the helm.

Since taking over UMD’s head coaching duties on Holquist has compiled an overall record of 146-118 entering this season while guiding UMD to a pair of NCAA Division II playoff berths (2001-02 and 2002-2003), one Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference regular season title (2001-02), and two NSIC tournament championships (2001-02 and 2002-03).

Holquist spent 12 years as a Bulldog assistant coach before becoming the 15th head coach in the program’s storied history. During his tenure as both as an assistant and as a head coach, UMD has made 12 national tournament appearances and has produced nine All-Americans and 11 Most Valuable Conference Player’s of the Year.

ON THE AIR: Most of the men's basketball games will be on the radio this season with Ray Schow doing the play-by-play. The games are on KDAL 610 AM or WGEE 970. You can also tune-in to the games on the web.

To access, click on the link, http://www.umdbulldogs.com/mens/basketball/ Then, click on the gray tab at the top--Bulldogs on the Air. Then, click on KDAL-Radio.