The University of Minnesota Duluth kicked off 2017 on a bright note, defeating the University of Wisconsin-Superior 66-56 in a Tuesday non-conference matinee.

"It's good to have a win," head coach Matt Bowen said. "When you've struggled like we have this year, we'll take a win any way we can get it."

UMD led from start to finish, extending its lead to as much as 22 in the process. A deep bench and balanced scoring attack was the Bulldogs' key to success, with 12 players notching points on the day. Junior forward Jake Wilson led the way with 10 points, while junior guard Kyle Schalow and freshman forward Luke Harris each netted nine points. UMD connected on 44.1 percent of shots from the field and converted on 14-of-16 from the charity stripe.

The Bulldogs wasted little time to start the game, scoring 12 straight points in the opening five minutes, before finally allowing the Yellow Jackets to score with 14:36 remaining in the half. With 6:47 to play, freshman guard Logan Rohrscheib knocked down a three off a feed from sophomore guard Jake Larkin, pushing UMD to a 28-9 lead. Wisconsin-Superior pushed back in the final minute, scoring eight consecutive points to cut the halftime score to 36-26.

Neither team could find its shooting stroke in the second half, each recording field goal percentages of under 33 percent. At the halfway point of the second half, the Bulldogs knocked down three straight free throws to pull ahead by their largest margin - 57-35. UWS inched its way back to within 10, before ultimately falling 66-56.

Junior center Robert Harris picked up his first points of the season with a pair of free throws late in the second half.

UMD will look to build off the victory as it travels to face the University of Minnesota Crookston on Jan. 6.