The University of Minnesota Duluth used hot shooting early and again late as the Bulldogs knocked off the No. 25- ranked Minnesota State University Mankato on Sunday afternoon at Romano Gym. UMD (10-3, 7-1 NSIC) finished shooting 57.1 percent for the game, and needed every one of its 28 baskets as the Mavericks (10-3, 5-2 NSIC) shot 42.9 percent for the game, making good on 30 buckets and 20-of-26 trips to the free throw line.

Senior guard Taylor Lavery led five Bulldogs in double figures with 30, hitting four three-pointers in the first half, each assisted by senior forward Kristofer Jackson, who'd finish with five dimes in nine minutes off the bench. Lavery would add a fifth three-pointer in the second half and also shot 50.0 percent himself (9-of-18) and made good on 7-of-8 trips to the free throw line. Senior forward Brendon Pineda got in foul trouble early in the first half but finished with 23 minutes, scoring 12 points and knocking back a career-high four blocks. Senior guard Pierre Newton produced a double-double with a team-high 10 boards and 23 points. Sophomore guard Kyle Schalow had 11 points in a start while senior guard Junior Coleman added 13 points off the bench for the Bulldogs.

UMD found itself trailing early with a three-pointer by Mankato gave them a 12-4 lead after an earlier technical foul assessed to the Bulldogs bench gave them back-to-back possessions. The Bulldogs would score the next nine points to take the lead, and back-to-back threes by Lavery would put them up by two. A third, later in the series put UMD up by eight itself at 26-18, but Mankato scratched back with 12-of-16 points to draw even at 30-30. The Mavericks took a 46-45 lead to the locker room and would stretch it to three at 54-51. It'd be the last time MSU held a lead as the Bulldogs looked to be unstoppable again with a 27-10 over the near-seven-minute span from 14:14 remaining to 7:40 on the clock. Mankato scraped back into it, trailing by just one at 82-81 with 2:34 to go -- but the Bulldogs hit free throws down the stretch to hold them at bay and eventually, gave UMD its first win against Minnesota State since the 2010-11 season.

The victory also pushed the Bulldogs' record to 3-2 against ranked competition this season and 6-0 in Duluth. UMD will play host to its bridge rival on Wednesday afternoon as the Bulldogs host the University of Wisconsin-Superior in the team's final non-conference tilt of the season. Opening tip is set for 12:00 p.m. at Romano Gym.