What a difference a day makes.
One night after getting run out of their own gymnasium, the University of Minnesota Duluth men's basketball team displayed all of the tools they lacked the previous night and used them to walk away with yet another lopsided score against NSIC rival Minnesota Crookston.
The Bulldogs assisted on 15 of their 30 field goals while limiting the Golden Eagles to a 31.7 percent (20-for-63) shooting percentage en route to an 81-55 decimation of their conference foes. UMD swept the season series with the Golden Eagles with the average margin of victory sitting at 29.5 points.
“The high number of assists indicates team play right there,” said head coach Gary Holquist. “More than anything we sought out good shots and did a good job in team defense. The tale of two nights was this weekend in a nutshell. We played together as a team and that's what separates these two games over the weekend.”
After swapping baskets and marginal leads for the first 10 minutes of the contest, Reece Zoelle cashed in on a layup to put the Bulldogs on top for good. Through the remainder of the first stanza, the home squad employed a 16-3 run to put things out of reach for the Golden Eagles.
Jake Hottenstine put his aggressiveness on display, driving to the rim on numerous occasions and making good on four-of-four free throw attempts to begin the game-clinching surge. Taking advantage of the lackluster Crookston defense, Ryan Rasmussen and Reece Zoelle each rattled home treys during the run while Riley Walker kept proving why he was promoted to the starting lineup. The 6-6 junior had four points of his own during the pivotal stretch.
“Riley has done a very good job for us,” stated Holquist. “He gives us consistency on both ends of the floor and he's really elevated his game. The big thing for him is that he's healthy.”
Returning to the floor of Romano Gymnasium armed with a 39-23 advantage to begin the final frame, the Bulldogs were unrelenting in their dissection of the Crookston defense. A 7-0 run featuring another triple from Rasmussen as well as baskets from Zoelle and Walker set the tone for the rest of the game.
Crookston scored four straight points to cut the deficit to 19, but Hottenstine emphatically took away any momentum the Golden Eagles may have gathered. The junior pick pocketed Broderick Schmidt then ran the length of the floor before taking to the sky for a spectacular two-handed jam to bring the Bulldog faithful to their feet.
The UMD lead remained in the 20-point range before an 11-0 run culminating with a three-ball from Walker gave the Bulldogs a 30-point advantage – their largest of the contest.
With the victory, the Bulldogs keep the Golden Eagles winless in Romano Gymnasium since the series with their northwestern rivals began in 1997.
Rasmussen led the way for the Bulldogs, pouring in 18 points including a four-of-eight night from beyond the arc. Over the weekend, the senior finally charted historic territory by entering the top-10 all-time scorers in the 81-year history of UMD basketball. The Waupun, Wis., sharpshooter has poured in an astounding 1,459 points while sporting maroon and gold and sits in 10th place and 14 markers away from rising one spot to ninth place all-time.
Walker added 14 markers on five-of-10 shooting while Hottenstine chipped in 12. Off the bench, Dan Kornbaum added 12 points of his own including a two-handed slam off a precise feed from Peter Crawford. An inspired defensive effort on the part of the Bulldogs forced 19 Crookston turnovers during the one-sided affair.
Minnesota Crookston was led by Akeem Cubie who had 16 points and nearly completed a double-double with nine rebounds.
For the final time in the 2011-12 regular season the Bulldogs will hit the road, this time staying in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. First up on their two-game road swing is a showdown with Minnesota State – a team that beat the Bulldogs in Romano on January 21. The Bulldogs will look to solidify a spot in the NSIC tournament beginning at 8 p.m. on Friday (Feb. 17) from the Taylor Center in Mankato, Minn.
