The University of Minnesota Duluth had chances to tie or pull ahead in the closing minutes of the game, but the Bulldogs could not get the shot they needed, fallling to the University of Mary 68-67 on the road in Bismarck, North Dakota on Friday night.

UMD (15-12, 11-10 NSIC) traded three-pointers to start the game and the two teams would be knotted up at 12-12 with just 8:15 off the clock. The Bulldogs would hit a pair of free throws to take a lead, but U-Mary (17-10, 12-9 NSIC) scored 11 straight points and 17-of-19 to jump out on UMD 27-16 just past the 15-minute mark of the opening frame. The Bulldogs had just one made shot from the floor in a 10:44 span before senior swing guard Pierre Newton scored a pair in the closing minute of the half, pulling UMD within 36-25 at the halftime break.

U-Mary would extend its lead out to to 15 at 47-32 at the 4:40 mark in the second half before the Bulldogs scored nine straight, making their move to get back into it, drawing within four at 47-43 when senior forward Brendon Pineda hit a three-point shot. A three by U-Mary would follow and the Marauders would push their lead to ten points once again at the 10-minute media time out. UMD scored 9-of-12 points and would continue to hang around, cutting that lead finally ot three points at 59-56 with 6:16 remaining in the half, but U-Mary scored the next four with Bryan Jefferson scoring a lay-up and-one.

The Bulldogs continued to answer in a hot-scoring second half, with sophomore guard Kyle Schalow hitting a three-pointer and Newton a pair of free throws to cut the lead down to just a pair and would pull within one with a chance to take a lead on the game's final possession, trailing 68-67 with just 20 ticks remaining on the clock. Pineda drove the lane but couldn't get a lay-up to fall, and a number of tip-in attempts did not go UMD's way either with Mary hanging on to down the Bulldogs by a point.

Newton finished with a team-high 25 points, hitting 13-of-14 scores from the free throw line, while Lavery and Pineda each hit double figures with 10. Pineda's eight boards and trio of three-pointers were each game highs. The Marauders got 16 points from Jefferson, who finished 6-of-11 from the floor with a team-high seven rebounds.

The Bulldogs will look to end their winless skid in the regular season finale as the team travels to Minot State University on Saturday evening. Opening tip is set for 6:00 p.m., following the women's contest in Minot, North Dakota.