The University of Minnesota Duluth began a three-game road trip on Thursday night with a 74-68 non-conference victory in a defensive battle against a team receiving votes in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Preseason Top 25, Michigan Technological University in Houghton. The Huskies were the third team out of four in UMD's early season schedule to be ranked in the preseason poll.

UMD (3-1) scored 13 points off eight Michigan Tech (R.V.) turnovers in the Huskies' season opener, and the Bulldogs shot 42.4 percent on the night (25-of-59) while holding Tech to 39.3 percent (22-of-56). UMD helped itself out with 13 offensive rebounds on the night though made the game a bit closer than head coach Matt Bowen would like, out-fouling the Huskies 22-20 on the night.

Senior guard Taylor Lavery would lead all scorers with 29 points, while senior swing guard Pierre Newton added 14 and matched sophomore forward Charles Benson with a team-high eight rebounds. Senior big man Luke Heller grabbed a double-double for the Huskies with 17 points and 11 boards, adding a game-high three assists for good measure, but it was freshman forward Kyle Monroe who led Tech with 19 points on the night. Freshman guard Bryan Heath made the score closer than it otherwise may have been, hitting five of the Huskies' eight three-pointers on the night. The Bulldogs would score just six, including three from Lavery, but made up the difference at the charity stripe and by taking more shots. UMD's three extra made shots were the difference in the game as the Bulldogs took three more shots than Tech.

Much like Tuesday night against Northern Michigan University, the Bulldogs dug themselves a hole early, trailing by nine at 21-12 but quickly erased that deficit with a 15-3 run, with Lavery giving UMD a 27-24 lead on a three-pointer. The teams would trade scores to the half when the Huskies scored a pair of free throws to take a 36-33 lead to the break. The second half proved a defensive battle with neither team leading by more than five at any point before Lavery sunk a pair of free throws with 0:08 on the clock to give the Bulldogs a six-point advantage. The teams would exchange leads five times and tie the game six times in the second half. UMD's bench added seven points after the break

UP NEXT
UMD will continue its road trip on Saturday as the Bulldogs travel to take on the University of Wisconsin-Parkside in Somers, Wisconsin. Opening tip is set for
3:00 p.m.