Trailing by 14 points at the half, the University of Minnesota Duluth outscored the University of Sioux Falls 40-26 over the final 13:35 to pick up a 74-70 comeback win in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play on the road on Friday evening.
UMD (11-10, 8-7 NSIC) held its ground in the upper half of the NSIC North division while Sioux Falls (7-14, 4-11 NSIC) dropped its seventh game in a row.
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HIGHLIGHTS• Junior guards
Brendon Pineda,
Pierre Newton, and
Taylor Lavery lifted the Bulldog offense with 21, 19, and 17 points, respectively. Senior center
Brett Ervin scored just nine points, but grabbed a season-high seven rebounds. Newton and Pineda grabbed six. Senior guard
Reece Zoelle added eight points off the bench to round out the UMD scoring.
• Sophomore guard Mack Johnson scored 20 points for USF, including 4-of-8 from beyond the arc. Junior forward Jordan Stotts added 17 and a team-high six boards.
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The Bulldogs went just 8-of-23 in the opening half (34.8 percent), but had four different players drill a three-pointer. Ervin scored on UMD's only trip to the free throw line, but the Bulldogs kept their hopes alive by grabbing 12 offensive rebounds. USF, meanwhile, shot 48.3 percent (14-of-29) in the opening half, with Johnson scored four threes himself as the team jumped ahead by a 14-point margin heading to the locker room.
Johnson finally missed a three-point attempt, allowing Lavery to lay-in the first score of the second half on a fast-break, starting the Bulldogs' comeback attempt. Sioux Falls scored again, but an and-one for Newton started a comeback that saw UMD out-score USF 18-6 over a six-minute span, including threes by Ervin and Pineda. Within four, the Bulldogs and Cougars traded baskets at the midpoint of the half. Lavery scored six points and added an assist on a Pineda three-pointer as UMD tied up the game with 6:34 remaining. USF took its final lead with 5:09 remaining, but the Bulldogs scored 10 straight points, not allowing a field goal until leading by eight with just 37 seconds remaining.
UMD shot 54.2 percent (13-of-24) in the second half, making good on 6-of-10 three-pointers and 20-of-22 free throw attempts. Sioux Falls would finish the game shooting 47.5 percent, including 15-of-32 after the break but made just 2-of-7 threes and 2-of-5 free throws. The Bulldogs had just 13 fouls in the game.
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UP NEXT
UMD continues on the road tomorrow for another NSIC South interdivisional match-up in Marshall, Minnesota. The Bulldogs will take on Southwest Minnesota State University at 7:00 p.m., following the women's contest.
