Trailing by five in heading to halftime, head coach Matt Bowen and the University of Minnesota Duluth were pleased with the first-half performance against the first-place team in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. All that hard work went out the window when Minnesota State University went on a 14-0 run to start the second half. That proved to be the difference maker as the Mavericks posted a 76-58 road victory over the Bulldogs in Romano Gymnasium Friday night. 

UMD, who went 0-for-8 during that Minnesota State spurt, finished the night shooting 33.8 percent. The Mavericks, who shot a streaky 35 percent in the first 20 minutes, knocked down 14-of-26 in the second half to wind up shooting 42.9 percent for the game. Minnesota State (19-4; 15-2 NSIC) pushes its series record up to 45-33 over the maroon and gold. The Bulldogs (9-13; 5-11 NSIC) have dropped four straight, and have lost five of the last six to the Mavericks. 

The first half had UMD and Minnesota State exchanging the lead six times with no one leading by more then seven. The Bulldogs gained its biggest lead 18-13 on a three-pointer by sophomore forward Brandon Myer. The Mavericks trimmed the lead and slowly grabbed the lead before walking into the half up 35-30.

Myer scored 23 points to lead UMD. Myer was one rebound shy of his fourth double-double of the year. Freshman guard Xavier Cummings, the Bulldogs' next leading scorer, had eight points off the bench. UMD had three players record three assists -- Myer, sophomore guard Trevor Entwisle and senior guard Kyle Schalow. 

The Maverick offense was sparked by Charlie Brown, who had 14 points. Chris Kendrix had 12 points and seven rebounds. Cameron Kirksey registered 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting. The conference's top scoring team, 84.0 points coming into tonight, was held under 80 points for the second time in the last eight games.

UMD is back at again tomorrow with another home matchup this time against Concordia University, St. Paul at 6:00 p.m. The Golden Bears have lost six of their last seven after a 42-point blowout to St. Cloud State University tonight.