The University of Wisconsin-Parkside held off a pair of rallies by the University of Minnesota Duluth in the second half before opening a run of their own late to knock off the Bulldogs 79-61 at Romano Gymnasium on Sunday afternoon.
UMD (3-2) drops its second game of the season as the NCAA Tournament participant from a season ago Rangers (4-0) remain undefeated in 2014-15.
TOP SCORERS• Senior guard
Reece Zoelle put together his best game of the young season, shooting 7-of-11 including 5-of-7 in the first half to finished with 19 points, three assists, and five rebounds. Senior center
Brett Ervin also quietly hit double figures with 16 points, including 5-of-6 from the charity stripe. Junior guard
Brendon Pineda led the way with a game-high six boards for UMD.
• Senior big man Zygimantas Riauka gave the Bulldogs fits offensively with a 9-of-11 shooting night for 24 points, though he hauled in just five rebounds, and four on the defensive end, to lead Parkside.
The Bulldogs were slow to warm up offensively in the opening half as a jumper by Zoelle and three free throws were the team's only offense as the Rangers jumped ahead 11-5 in the early going. Ervin netted the next four points for UMD, but a three-pointer by freshman Kendale McCullum kept the Bulldogs at bay. Parkside opened up a 10-point lead by the halftime break, but UMD nibbled away, cutting the lead to five twice and eventually three at 59-56 when Pineda drove the lane and laid in a shot off a steal by Zoelle. It would prove to be the closest the Bulldogs would come though as the Bulldogs went 2-for-6 the rest of the way as Parkside closed out on a 20-5 run.
UMD shot just 36.4 percent in the opening half, allowing Parkside to complete shots at a 56.0 percent clip and open up a fairly substantial lead. Better in the second half, the Bulldogs went 11-of-23 to finish at 42.2 percent for the game, but the Rangers did them one better finished with a 60.8 percent shooting percentage while making 17 of 26 shots after the break.
UP NEXTThe Bulldogs will close out their non-conference schedule Tuesday at Northern Michigan University. Opening tip is set for 7:00 p.m. ET.
Â
