The University of Minnesota Duluth honored seniors Sean Burns, Ryan Kaczynski and Mamadou Ngom with a 74-62 win against Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference foe Bemidji State on Senior Day at Romano Gymnasium to put to an end the regular season. The Bulldogs won their third straight game on Saturday and have won six of seven heading into the 2019 NSIC/Sanford Health Men's Basketball Tournament, which begins on Wednesday, Feb. 27.

UMD, with its 12-point win, locked up the third seed in the NSIC North Division and will host Winona State University at 7:30 p.m. in the first round of the conference tournament in a rematch of last year's opening round game. The Bulldogs spoiled the Warriors home-playoff game last season with a 89-77 overtime upset. UMD will be one of the eight teams hosting as the top four seeds in each division host the first round of the tournament. The quarterfinals, semifinals and championship game will take place on March 3-5 at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.

The Bulldogs shot an even 50 percent from the field as the offense sparked the team late in the first half. UMD closed the half on a 16-7 run to take a 40-32 advantage into halftime. Bemidji State (9-17; 6-16 NSIC) ran into a stingy UMD defense to open the second half as the maroon-and-gold climbed out to a 58-37 lead in the first nine minutes of the second half. The Beavers shot 2-for-17 during that span as the Bulldogs played their best stretch of basketball and their smartest of the season with only six fouls committed all game, a season low.

Bemidji State ended the night knocking down 39 percent from the floor. UMD held its second straight opponent under 40 percent and its seventh time overall this season.

Junior forward Brandon Myer recorded his NSIC-leading 13th double-double of the season and his fifth straight after rattling off 25 points and 13 rebounds, both game highs. The four-time NSIC North Division Player of the Week went 8-for-17 with two triples and also had a pair of blocks. Junior sharpshooter Logan Rohrscheib chipped in 12 points including three three-pointers in 29 minutes. Rohrscheib provided one of the more memorable highlights of the night as he shook his defender out of his shoes and buried a triple in UMD's big second-half run. Sophomore forward Jake Paper provided the Bulldogs with some toughness inside as he swatted a career high four-shots tonight, the second highest total by a Bulldog this season. 

For the three seniors, Burns ended the night with eight points with all four shots going down. He also picked up three boards and one of UMD's eight blocks, a season high as well. Kacsynski made his only shot attempt of the night and grabbed a defensive rebound in eight minutes of action. Ngom busted through with six points, three assists and a block of his own.


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