Aberdeen, SD – The No. 12/17 Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs traveled to face the reigning NSIC champion Northern State Wolves. In a game that came down to the wire, the Bulldogs held off the Wolves for a big road win to remain undefeated and won the game 69-66.
 
Head Coach Justin Wieck on tonight's win; "I was really proud of our guys tonight. Credit to Northern for how they played. We struggled but kept playing hard, kept playing together and made some big plays in the 2nd half. That's what Im most proud of. We have competitive guys who thrived in that moment. A great win for our team on the road."
 
To start the game, Northern State jumped out to an early 7-2 lead just two minutes into the game. The Bulldogs managed to settle into the game as they tied the game up] at 13-13 with 12:50 left in the game. Both teams found themselves in a battle as neither team could pull away to take a big lead in the first half. The Bulldogs and Wolves traded throughout most of the half. The Wolves took a 7-point lead with 1:06 left in the first half, but the Bulldogs scored 5 unanswered late in the half to go into halftime down just two points. The Bulldogs shot 13-26 (50%) from the field and 3-12 (25%) from three-point range for the first half. Austin Andres led the team with 11 points in the first half while also added 6 rebounds. Northern State shot just 12-31 (38.7%) from the field and 4-13 (30.8%) from three-point range. Four Wolves starters scored 7 points in the first half to lead the team. The Wolves led 33-31 going into halftime. This was the first time all season the Bulldogs trailed going into halftime.
 
UMD came out of halftime hot as they quickly jumped out to a 6-point lead thanks to a jump shot from Drew Blair. The Bulldogs maintained a small lead before taking their largest lead of the night at 49-41 thanks to a layup from Charlie Katona with 11:15 left in the game. The Wolves began to chip away at the Bulldogs lead as they came back to tie it up at 49-49 with 8:52 left. From there, neither team led by more than 6 points the rest of the game. The Wolves took a 63-62 lead with 2:05 left in the game. A big three-pointer from Charlie Katona and two made free throws by Austin Andrews on back-to-back possessions gave the Bulldogs a 67-63 lead with :42 seconds remaining. Northern State's Jordan Belka hit a big three-pointer to draw them within 1 point. From there, Drew Blair hit two free throws to make it a three-point game before the Bulldogs defense came up big and stopped the Wolves on the offensive end to close them out to win the game 69-66. The bulldogs shot 13-28 (46.4%) from the field in the second half and 5-10 (50%) from three-point range in the second half. They also shot 7-11 from the foul line. The Bulldogs defense once again gave the Wolves offense issues as they shot just 12-31 (38.7%) from the field and 4-14 (28.6%) from three-point range. They also shot 5-6 from the foul line in the second half.
 
The Bulldogs entire starting line-up all scored in double figures, led by Charlie Katona who had 16 points on the night, followed by Austin Andrews who had 15 points. Andrews led the team with 8 rebounds while Joshua Brown added 7 of his own. Andrews also added 6 assists on the night to lead the team. Overall, the Bulldogs shot 26-54 (48.1%) on the night while shooting 8-22 (36.4%) from three-point range. They also shot 9-16 (56.3%) from the foul line.
 
Northern State was led by Sam Masten who had 16 pints while Jordan Belka added 15 points on the night. Cole Bergan led the team with 6 assists on the night while Belka led the team with 8 rebounds. Overall, the Wolves shot 24-62 (38.7%) from the field and 8-27 (29.6%) from three-point range on the night. They also shot 10-13 (76.9%) from the foul line.
 
Entering the night, the Bulldogs were just one of ten remaining undefeated teams in Division II.
 
Who's Next:
The No. 12/17 Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs will travel to face off against pre-season favorites Minnesota State-Moorhead tomorrow at 3:30 pm.