Big Rapids, Mich. – The No. 6/9 Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs traveled to face off against No. 10/23 Ferris State Bulldogs for a top 25 matchup on Sunday afternoon. UMD found themselves in a battle as the game went in to two overtimes. UMD managed to pull away late as they won the game 109-107 to improve to 14-0 on the season.
 
UMD found themselves in a battle in the first half. Both teams traded points to begin the game as UMD took an early 12-9 lead. From there, UMD slowly built up their lead as they lead by as many as 11 points in the first half. The Bulldogs led for the majority of the half as they led 41-31 with 3:49 left in the half. From there, FSU managed to chip away at UMD's lead as they first half counted down. FSU got UMD's lead down to four points at halftime as UMD took a 47-43 lead into halftime. UMD was led by Austin Andrews who had 14 points in the first half. The Bulldogs shot 18-39 (46.2%) from the field in the first half and 5-16 (31.3%) from three-point range in the first half. They also shot 6-9 (66.7%) from the foul line. Ferris State was led by Walt Kelser who had 11 points in the first half. FSU shot 17-38 (44.7%) from the field and 4-12 (33.3%) from three-point range in the first half.
 
Ferris State came out of the gates in the second half and quickly erased UMD's lead. FSU took their first lead of the game at 54-53 with 16:10 left in the second half. The rest of the half proved to be tightly contested as neither team could take a larger lead than 6 points the rest of the half. The score was tied at 71-71 with 8:21 left in the game. From there, teams continued to trade baskets as UMD slowly built up a 81-76 lead with 5:53 left in the half. Teams continued to trade baskets as FSU took a 88-86 lead with 1:14 left in the half. Austin Andrews tied it up at 88-88 thanks to a layup with :58 seconds left in the game. Both teams would miss three-point attempts down the stretch as the game went in to overtime tied at 88-88. UMD shot 16-34 (47.1%) from the field in the second half and 2-12 (16.7%) from three-point range. They also shot 7-8 from the foul line. Ferris state shot 14-31 (45.2%) from the field and 4-12 (33.3%) from three point range in the second half. They also shot 13-18 from the foul line.
 
UMD started the first overtime by going 0-4 from the foul line as Ferris State took a 93-88 lead with 3:36 left in overtime. UMD battled their way back into the game as they were able to tie it up at 97-97 with 1:27 left thanks to a three-pointer from Jack Middleton. After a layup from FSU, Joshua Brown hit a three-pointer to give UMD a 100-99 lead with :53 seconds left in the game. FSU tied it up thanks to a free-throw with :37 seconds remaining. Drew Blair missed a jump shot as time expired to move the game into a second overtime.
 
In the second overtime, both defenses stepped up early as both teams got early stops. UMD managed to score on back-to-back possessions to take a 104-100 lead. FSU managed to tie it back up at 104-104 with 2:07 left in the game. UMD managed to close out FSU down the stretch thanks to a big three-pointer from Drew Blair and a free throw by Joshua Brown to secure the win 109-107.
 
UMD shot 4-9 (44.4%) from the field and 3-6 (50%) from three-point range during overtime while they also shot 10-18 (55.6%) from the foul line in overtime. FSU shot 5-14 (35.7%) from the field and 2-8 (25%) from three-point range in overtime. They also shot 7-8 from the foul line.
 
Minnesota Duluth was led by a trio of Bulldogs who had over twenty points, which included Joshua Brown who had 22 points, Drew Blair added 21 points and Austin Andrews added 20 points on the day. Overall the Bulldogs had 5 players in double figures. Andrews led the team with 8 rebounds while Charlie Katona added 7 rebounds on the night. Jack Middleton added 9 assists on the night while Katona also added 5 assists. Blair added 4 steals on the day to lead the Bulldogs as well. Overall, UMD shot 38-82 (46.3%) from the field and 10-34 (29.4%) from three-point range on the day. They also shot 23-35 (65.7%) from the foul line on the day.
 
Ferris State was led by Walt Kelser who had 37 points on the day. Logan Ryan led the team with 9 rebounds while Jimmy Scholler added 8 assists on the day. FSU had 5 players in double digits. Overall, FSU shot 36-83 (43.4%) from the field and 10-32 (31.3%) from three-point range. They also shot 25-32 (78.1%) from the foul line.
 
Who's next:
The Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs will continue conference play as they will host Minnesota State on January 7 at 5:30 PM and then will host Concordia St.-Paul on Saturday January 8 at 3:30 PM.