A sloppy first half for both teams gave way to a lead for No. 16 Minnesota State University Mankato as the Mavericks knocked off the University of Minnesota Duluth by an 86-71 final at the Taylor Center in Mankato on Saturday evening.
UMD (6-8, 3-5 NSIC) falls for the second game on the road to start 2015 before returning home to Romano Gym next week. No. 16 Minnesota State (
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HIGHLIGHTS• Senior center
Brett Ervin continues to lead the way for UMD, scoring 23 points, but junior guard
Pierre Newton added a double-double with 19 and 10 rebounds on the night. Junior guard
Taylor Lavery was 5-of-10 from the floor for 12 points on the night. The Bulldogs got 13 points off their bench, including two from junior forward
Will Marshall who made his Bulldog debut on the night.
• Sophomore Mike Busack netted 18 points off the bench, including 13 in the first half for Minnesota State. Senior Assem Marei completed a double-double with 19 and 10 on the night as four Mavericks reached double digits.
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The two teams combined for 15 turnovers in the opening half - 10 by Minnesota State - but the Bulldogs could not capitalize, shooting just 35.3 percent in the first 20 minutes (12-of-34) while giving up eight more rebounds (25-17) to the Mavericks as MSU took a 38-29 lead to the locker room. UMD improved its offensive efficiency out of the break, shooting 56.7 percent in the second half, but again Minnesota State took the rebounding edge and cleaned up its turnovers with zero after halftime. While the Bulldogs' secondary scoring improved from the night before, the Mavericks got 34 points off their bench which proved to be the difference.
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UP NEXT
UMD will return home for a four-game homestand beginning next Friday night when the Bulldogs take on Bemidji State University at Romano Gym. Opening tip is set for 8:00 p.m., following the women's game.
