The University of Minnesota Duluth will open its season with five games in eight days, beginning with a pair on the road, as they take the long road to Bolivar, Missouri to take on Lincoln (Mo.) University and the host Bearcats at the Southwest Baptist University Classic.

UMD, which finished 0-2 in a pair of preseason exhibitions against NCAA Division I competition, proved competitive against the University of Notre Dame and rebounded with a strong second half against defending NIT Champion the University of Minnesota last week.

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• UMD got big nights from a pair of newcomers in junior guards Taylor Lavery and Brendon Pineda, who averaged 15.0 and 14.0 points per game, respectively, in the Bulldogs' exhibition season.  Pineda shot 42.9 percent, 9-of-21, in the two match-ups while Lavery was 5-of-7 from three point land.
• Senior Brett Ervin put together a dominating performance in his return from a redshirt season in 2013-14, netting 29 points of 11-of-17 shooting to go with five rebounds. The Bulldogs and Irish were basically even in the second half after UND put up a 13-point margin in the opening frame.

Getting back into NCAA II competition, the Bulldogs will need to put together a stronger first half as they look to pick up a pair of key in-region victories this weekend.
SCOUTING THE BLUE TIGERS (Friday, Nov 14, 3:30 p.m.) - Live Stats
• Lincoln (2013-14: 3-24, 1-18 Midwest Intercollegiate Athletic Association) owns a 1-0 record all-time against UMD, but that dates back to the 1958-59 season. LU debuts a new head coach, John Moseley, on Friday night. He had previously been an assistant at NCAA I North Carolina Central.
• Seniors Mike Smith and Joshua Buie were each cited with All-MIAA Honorable Mention tags after last season, each finishing in the top-20 in the league in scoring. Smith scored 15.8 points per game while Buie was not far behind with 15.3 to lead the Tigers.
• LU adds six new players from a season ago, including NCAA I transfers, senior forward Blake Rallings and junior guard Victor Scott.

SCOUTING THE BEARCATS (Saturday, Nov. 15, 4:00 p.m.) - Live Stats | Live Video | Live Audio
• Southwest Baptist (2013-14: 14-15, 7-12 MIAA) will meet Southwestern Oklahoma State University on Friday before taking on the Bulldogs for the first time in program history on Saturday afternoon. UMD did meet SBU in women's soccer this past season.
• SBU dropped a Division I exhibition at Southern Illinois 79-63 last week, getting a 28-point performance from senior guard Derrick Stewart while senior guard Menas Stephens hit double-figures with 12 points and nine rebounds. The Bearcats shot 38.3 percent for the game.
• Four of Southwest's top five scorers graduated following last season and the team boats just two seniors and nine underclassmen, including six freshmen for first-year head coach Clark Sheehy.

UMD and LU will tip the season Friday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. in Bolivar.