The University of Minnesota Duluth held on through an overtime period to avoid upset against Concordia University, St. Paul, knocking off the Golden Bears 85-83 after 45 minutes of action at Romano Gym on Saturday afternoon in Duluth.

UMD (9-3, 6-1 NSIC) did not bring its best offensive game on Saturday night but showed the tenacity to play through it. The Bulldogs shot 47.4 percent on 57 shots, making good on 9-of-22 from three-point range as they would trail by as many as eight in the second half before forcing overtime despite Concordia-St. Paul (3-9, 0-6 NSIC) taking the last shot.

Senior guard Taylor Lavery netted a career-high 29 for the Bulldogs, hitting five three-pointers and 8-of-9 from the free throw line. Senior Pierre Newton had 23 points and seven rebounds, while senior Junior Coleman added 14 off the bench, shooting 6-of-10 on the night.  The Bulldogs took a one-point edge to the locker room at 37-36, but Concordia scored 8-of-10 points with a pair of free throws by senior guard Cole Olstad giving them a six-point lead with fewer than five minutes off the clock out of the locker room.

Olstad would net 24 points, while freshman Bryndan Matthews had 16 for the Golden Bears. CU would lead by as many as six on three different occasions, but each time the Bulldogs had an answer. A foul on Lavery as he lifted a three-pointer as did a pair of splashdowns by the senior in the final minutes of the half.

Lavery would again go to the line for three points early in the overtime session with Concordia senior big man Shea Mandli fouling out in the process. He'd sink all three and followed it with a lay-up on the Bulldogs' next possession, and the deficit proved too much to overcome for the Golden Bears despite a late chance at a tip-in to tie it.

UMD will now set its sights on another top-25 team as the team plays host to No. 25 Minnesota State University Mankato tomorrow afternoon. Opening tip is set for 3:00 p.m., following the women's contest. Both games can be seen locally on the My9 Sports Network.