The University of Minnesota Duluth had come within inches of a win multiple times in its first five games, but finally pulled through for a victory against the University of Minnesota Crookston on Saturday evening.
Only having five prior collegiate games under their belt, the Bulldog freshman stepped up their game. Forward
Luke Harris notched a career-best 16 points, including 10 in the second half, to lead the Bulldogs over the Golden Eagles. The Northfield, Minn. native tacked on seven rebounds -- also a career-high. Forward
Brandon Myer shot 50% from the field, resulting in 15 points while adding six boards. Guard
Logan Rohrscheib, the third UMD freshman to surpass 10 points, scored 12 points and knocked down a pair of three-pointers.
Collectively, the Bulldogs shot at a 48.3% clip (a season-high) and held the Golden Eagles to 43.3%. UMD also won the battle on the glass, grabbing 37 rebounds to UMC's 33. For the Golden Eagles freshman guard Harrison Cleary built on his NSICleading 22.4 points per game by scoring 25 points on 9-18 shooting.
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The contest remained close for the opening six minutes, but with 13:13 to play the Bulldogs sparked seven straight points to grab an eight point advantage. UMD would go on to lead by as much as 13 and as little as one in the opening half, ultimately taking a 40-36 lead into the locker room. Myer led the Bulldogs with 11 first half points while shooting 60% from the field. UMD held the lead for all but 11 seconds in the first half.
With 11:06 remaining in the game and the Bulldogs holding onto a slim 52-48 edge, Cleary netted an and-one to bring the Golden Eagles within one point. UMC was unable to overcome the deficit however, as UMD remained on top for the entire second half. The Bulldogs ran off 11 of 13 points just to extend their lead to 10 points with under five minutes to play. Some solid defensive play and free throws tacked on by UMD held off any Golden Eagle comeback chance, rewarding the Bulldogs with their first win of 2016.
UMD will take to the road next weekend to continue Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play against Southwest Minnesota State University and the University of Sioux Falls.
