Duluth Minn. – The Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs hosted the Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles on Saturday afternoon. The Bulldogs were able to survive their worst shooting so far this season to defeat the Golden Eagles 75-68 to improve to a program best 9-0.
The first half saw the Golden Eagles jump out to an early 14-5 lead over the Bulldogs with 12:50 left in the first half. From there, the Bulldogs began to claw themselves back into the game and took the lead thanks to a layup by
Austin Andrews to take a 18-16 lead with 9:10 left in the half. From there both teams went on to trade baskets as neither team could take a big lead. Right before halftime, the Bulldogs were able to take a 9-point lead into halftime after 3 straight baskets, capped off by a three-pointer at the half-time buzzer by
Jack Middleton. The Bulldogs shot 12-30 (40%) from the field and 3-9 (33.3%) from three-point range in the first half. They also shot 10-12 (83.3%) from the foul line.
Austin Andrews and
Jack Middleton both had 15 points in the first half to give the Bulldogs the lead. The Golden Eagles also struggled from the field as they shot 11-28 (39.29%) from the field and 5-12 (41.67%) from three-point range.
In the second half, both teams once again struggled from the field as both teams shot around 40% from the field. The Bulldogs built their lead up to as many as 12 points early in the first half before the Golden Eagles slowly chipped into their lead. They were able to get the game to within 4 points as the Bulldogs led 55-51 with 9:16 left in the game. With 2:04, the Golden Eagles got the game within one point going down the stretch. Despite not scoring in the first half and shooting 0-6,
Drew Blair came alive down the stretch. The NSIC's second leading scorer scored 10 of his 12 points in the last two minutes, which also included three straight baskets, two of them three-pointers. Despite a late push by the Golden Eagles, the Bulldogs held them off as they won the game 75-68, to extend their program best start to 9-0. The Bulldogs shot 14-35 (40%) in the second half from the field and 4-12 (33.3%) from three-point range. They also shot 6-9 (66.7%) from the foul line. The Golden Eagles shot 14-34 (41.2%) from the field and 7-18 (38.9%) from the three-point line. They also shot 5-7 71.5%) from the foul line in the second half.
The Bulldogs were led by
Jack Middleton who had 22 points on the night, while
Austin Andrews also added 21 points. Andrews tied a career-high with 15 rebounds on the night while
Joshua Brown led the team with 4 assists on the night. Overall, the Bulldogs shot 26-65 (40%) from the field and 7-21 (33.3%) from three-point range. They also shot 16-21 from the foul line.
The Golden Eagles were led by Ethan Channel who had 21 points while Brian Sitzmann and Leonard Dixon both added 14 points. Dixon added 11 rebounds on the night while Uzo Dibiamaka and Zen Goodridge both had 3 assists. Overall, they shot 25-62 (40.3%) from the field and 12-30 (40%) from three-point range. They also shot 6-10 (60%) from the foul line.
Who's next:
The Bulldogs will be back at home as they Host Minot State on Friday December 10 at 5:30 pm. They will then host Mary on Saturday December 11 at 3:30 PM.
