The University of MInnesota scored the second-fewest points it had all season, but edged out St. Cloud State University 68-66 in both teams' Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference opener when senior guard Pierre Newton laid-in the go-ahead score at Romano Gym on Saturday evening.

The two teams were relatively quiet in the first half, taking a 27-27 tie to the locker room. St. Cloud State (1-4, 0-1 NSIC) led by as many as six points before UMD (4-2, 1-0 NSIC) started hitting threes, five in the first half and three in the second. The Bulldogs turned the six point lead around to their own favor in the second half, leading 48-42 after five straight points by senior guard Taylor Lavery, who finished with 15 points which still put him just third on UMD.

Newton's game-winning lay-up gave him 16 points to go with five rebounds on the day, but it was senior forward Brendon Pineda, who picked up a pair of defensive rebounds in the final minute of the game to help the Bulldogs ice it, leading the UMD with 19 points on the day to go with a pair of blocks. He and Lavery each added a pair of threes, while senior point guard Junior Coleman hit one to go with a team-high five assists.

The Bulldogs shot just 41.1 percent (23-of-56) but hit eight threes (36.4 percent on 22 shots) and made good on 14-of-22 trips to the free throw line. St. Cloud shot 45.5 percent (25-of-55), but finished 5-of-16 from three and 11-of-14 from the charity stripe. Scottie Stone hit a trio of three-pointers for a team-high 19 points for the Huskies, while Gage Davis had a double-double with 15 and 11 boards.

UP NEXT
UMD will continue a three-game homestand next weekend as it enters the usual NSIC Friday-Saturday schedule. The Bulldogs will host the University of Minnesota-Crookston on Friday night. Opening tip is set for 8:00 p.m.