The University of Minnesota Duluth survived a slugfest featuring 53 personal fouls, knocking off Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference North Division rival the University of Minnesota Crookston 78-71 as the team's three-game homestand at Romano Gym continued on Friday night.

UMD (5-2, 2-0 NSIC) shot 42.3 percent for the game (22-of-52) and made good on 28-of-39 free throws on the night to hold off Minnesota Crookston (2-4, 0-2 NSIC), which made just one shot from the floor in the opening 11:09 of the second half to trail by as much as 16 before going on a scoring run of its own to cut the Bulldog lead to three at 66-63.

Crookston shot just 33.9 percent (20-of-59) while making 23-of-32 free throw attempts. Neither team did much from three-point range, combining for 4-of-20 from beyond the arc in the second half. That forced both teams inside, and a constant need to drive the lane ended up sending both teams to the line throughout the night. UMD went 15-of-21 in the second half from the free throw line to hold off the charging Golden Eagles.

Senior guards Pierre Newton and Taylor Lavery each scored 16 points on the night for the Bulldogs, but while Newton rounded out a double-double with a game-high 10 rebounds. Another fourth-year guard, Junior Coleman, added a spark off the bench with 12 points of his own while senior forward Brendon Pineda went for 11 and eight rebounds. Sophomore guard C.J. Polk had a game-high 17 points for Minnesota Crookston, one of three Golden Eagles in double digits.
 
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UMD will be back in action tomorrow evening as the team closes out the home schedule for 2015 against Bemidji State University. Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m., following the women's contest.