Another day, another challenge for the University of Minnesota Duluth as the team's winless streak hits four games and its possession of second place in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference's North Division falls to a three-way tie with Northern State University drawing even after a 78-72 victory over the Bulldogs on Saturday night at Romano Gym.

UMD (15-11, 11-8 NSIC) led at the halftime break, 36-34, but never seemed able to pull away to a comfortable distance then needed a late-game push to keep Northern State (15-11, 11-9 NSIC) within striking distance after the Wolves heated up from beyond the arc in the second half. The Bulldogs, meanwhile, finished just 4-of-23 from three-point range heaving one-too-many from distance in the second half to shoot just 38.0 percent for the game (27-of-71).

Northern State not only was hot from three-point range but controlled the paint, scoring 20 points inside while also drawing 33 fouls against UMD on the night, finishing 31-of-42 from the free throw line. The Bulldogs had just 18 shots from the charity stripe, scoring 14 points at the line. The Wolves quickly took the lead, scoring a couple of early buckets against UMD in the second half, but didn't stretch it out until late in the half, leading by a game-high 12 after a pair of free throws by sophomore guard D.J. Pollard with 3:34 remaining. The Bulldogs made their push, pulling the score to within four with just seconds remaining before a pair of late free throws distanced Northern State to its final six-point lead.

The back-breaking call against the Bulldogs came as senior forward Brendon Pineda attempted a put-back on a lay-up by senior guard Junior Coleman with 55 seconds remaining only to be called for offensive goal-tending, but yet another missed three-point attempt by the Bulldogs ended the game as Northern State's senior guard Skye Warwick nabbed his fourth rebound of the night to close out the game, scoring 15 points for the Wolves. Pollard led the way with 21 points and seven rebounds for NSU. Senior guard Taylor Lavery had 21 for UMD, while senior swing guard Pierre Newton had 20 and eight rebounds. Pineda scored 13 on the night while Coleman added five.

UMD will now fight for playoff positioning on the road in the final week of the regular season, taking on the University of Mary and Minot State University next weekend. The Bulldogs and Marauders will get the action started Friday night in Bismarck, North Dakota. Opening tip is set for 8:00 p.m. following the women's contest.