Duluth, Minn. -- The University of Minnesota Duluth bounced back from two road defeats last week to edge out Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference foe Augustana University 73-67 Friday night at Roman Gymnasium.

Senior forward Alex Illikainen got the Bulldog offense started Friday evening with a lay-in just off the left side of the basket. A few minutes later, senior guard Trevor Entwisle found a cutting senior forward Brandon Myer under the basket for another layup to give the Bulldogs (17-6 overall, 12-6 NSIC) an early 7-4 advantage. Myer would force a charge on the ensuing Augustana (13-10 overall, 8-9 NSIC) possession to give the ball back to UMD. After trading leads through the first seven minutes, redshirt-freshman guard Drew Blair created some separation with his second three-pointer of the game, this one from the top of the key to give UMD a 14-10 lead. Freshman guard Jack Middleton cashed in on a block from Myer on the other end of the floor with a contested right-handed lay-in. Middleton followed up his first points of the game a couple of possessions later with a three from the left-wing to push the Bulldog advantage to seven points at 19-12. An 8-2 run from the Vikings allowed them to climb back to within one point at with four minutes to go in the opening half but the UMD responded with a 10-2 run of their own to gain their largest lead of the game ten points at 32-22. With just under a minute remaining, Blair found Illikainen wide open cutting to the basket for an open lay-up that gave the Bulldogs a 34-25 halftime lead.  

Blair opened up the scoring in the second half with a deep three-pointer from the top of the key, senior guard Logan Rohrscheib followed suit with a three of his own, and Blair cashed in on his fourth three-pointer of the game on the next possession to give the Bulldogs a 43-27 lead. The 16-point lead was the largest of the game up to that point. Ahead by nine with seven-and-a-half minutes remaining, Middleton lobbed a pass over a Viking to find Illikainen under the basket, who would convert the basket and pick up an and-one opportunity with a foul on the shot. Illkainen nailed the extra free-throw to give the Bulldogs a 56-44 advantage. Illikainen continued to take over a couple of possessions later when Myer found him sealing off his defender for an easy, right-handed lay-in. Adam Dykman's hook-shot from a couple feet away brought the Vikings back to within four points at 58-54 with five minutes to go. A two-handed slam dunk and a rejection on the ensuing defensive possession from Myer kept the Bulldogs ahead by four points at 60-56 with 2:55 remaining. Blair added his fifth three-pointer of the game, this one from the left-wing, to push the lead back to seven points at 63-56 with under two minutes remaining. Dylan LeBrun kept the Vikings in the game with 31.0 seconds left with a three-pointer from the right corner to cut the Bulldog lead to three points at 68-65. Myer connected on four consecutive free-throws in the final 15 seconds to put the Vikings away for good.

"I thought our guys had a great determination to them tonight. Our toughness and intensity willed us to that victory. It was big for us to bounce back after last weekend." - Men's Head Basketball Coach, Justin Wieck

Notables: Blair turned in a perfect night from beyond the arc, connecting on all five three-point attempts ... The Vikings edged the Bulldogs on the boards, outrebounding UMD 38-29 ... UMD turned in another impressive night at the charity stripe, cashing in on 21-26 attempts (80.8%) from the free-throw line.

Three Bulldogs landed in double figures for scoring on Friday: Myer (26 points, 6-10FG), Blair (18 points, 6-10 FG), and Illikainen (14 points, 6-10 FG).

Up Next: The Bulldogs will return to Romano Gymnasium tomorrow evening (Feb. 8) to square off with NSIC rival Wayne State College. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m.