The University of Minnesota Duluth men's basketball team secured a 73-60 victory Friday night on the road against St. Cloud State, largely led by their young but mighty starting five. The Bulldogs improve to 6-6 overall and 5-6 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.

UMD came out of the gate firing on all cylinders in the first half. The Bulldogs shot 15-27 (55.6%) from the field in the first half including 8-15 (53.3%) from beyond the arc. UMD and the Huskies remained in a tie ballgame for about the first three minutes before going on a 10-1 run in just over three minutes to put some distance between themselves and SCSU. The Bulldogs built upon that lead into their largest of the game as they went into halftime leading by 15 points. 

UMD slowed down a bit in the second half, not shooting nearly as well from the field. The Bulldogs went 12-31 (38.7%) and 3-13 (23.1%) from beyond the arc. This allowed the Huskies to bring the game back within striking distance, at one point cutting the UMD lead to just three points midway through the second half. The Bulldogs however, were able to weather the storm from the Huskies en route to an NSIC victory and keep them very much alive in the hunt for an NSIC tournament berth. In total, UMD would shoot 27-58 (46.6%) from the field and 11-28 (39.3%) from beyond the 3-point line. 

As previously mentioned, the Bulldogs' starting five produced all the juice UMD would need to bring down SCSU on Friday night. Redshirt sophomore guard Drew Blair led the way for UMD with 20 points, grabbing six boards and dishing out three assists. Right behind Blair was freshman forward Charlie Katona, Katona registered his first double-double of the season, recording 16 points, 11 rebounds and a team-high four steals. Freshman guard Joshua Brown recorded 13 points, one assist, and three rebounds. Sophomore guard Jack Middleton and freshman forward Austin Andrews both finished with 10 points. Middleton added a team-high four assists with Andrews recording three rebounds. 

Off the bench, freshman forward John Sutherland and freshman forward Lincoln Meister would both tally two points. Meister's were his first career collegiate points.

UMD will look to carry this momentum into tomorrow's matchup with the Huskies. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. on Saturday afternoon in St. Cloud, Minn.