The University of Minnesota Duluth broke their five-game losing streak tonight, beating the University of Minnesota Crookston 81-65. UMD improves their record to 3-5 (2-5 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference). UMN Crookston falls to 2-9 (1-8 NSIC).
 
The Bulldogs started the game off a little slow, as they spotted the Golden Eagles a 20-13 lead early in the first half. UMD did put together a couple of nice runs down the stretch as they cut the lead to two points. They shot 43.3% from the field and 30.8% (4-13) on 3-pointers, while UMN Crookston shot 44.8% from the field and 36.4% (4-11) on 3-pointers.
 
UMD went into halftime trailing 36-34.
 
The second half was a different story for the Bulldogs as they shot the lights out and played suffocating defense. UMD shot 56.7% from the field in the second half and 57.1% (8-14) on 3-pointers. UMD also got a great game from freshman guard Charlie Katona as he put up a career high 26 points and also added nine rebounds and three assists to help the Bulldogs pull away in the second half.
 
Overall, UMD shot 50% (30-60) from the field, 44.4% (12-27) on 3-pointers and out-rebounded UMN Crookston 36-28. The Golden Eagles shot 43.1% (25-58) from the field and 28.6% (6-21) on 3-pointers for the game.
 
On top of the 26 points UMD received from Katona, redshirt sophomore guard Drew Blair had 21 points, four rebounds and four assists. Sophomore guard Jack Middleton finished with 10 points, two rebounds and three steals and junior guard Mason Steffen finished with eight points and shot 2-2 on 3-pointers.
 
The Bulldogs will play their last home game of the season against UMN Crookston again tomorrow (Feb. 6) at 4pm.