Sioux Falls, SD – The No. 9 Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs traveled to face off against the No. 20 Augustana Vikings on Friday night. Despite a late Bulldogs comeback attempt, the Vikings lead proved to be too much to overcome as the Vikings iwn 89-83.
The game started with both teams on fire from the offensive end of the floor. Teams were tied 11-11 at the first media timeout with 14:42 remaining in the half. Both teams continued to stay on fire from the offensive end as teams found themselves in a shootout. Teams once again were tied at 22-22 with 11:37 remaining. From there, the Vikings began to slowly build a lead over the Bulldogs. The Bulldogs defense could not find a answer for the Vikings offense as the Vikings built up to a 44-37 lead with 5:06 remaining in the first half. From there, teams continued to hit shots down the stretch as the Vikings took a 54-46 halftime lead.
Austin Andrews and
Jack Middleton both had 12 first half points. The bulldogs shot 18-32 (56.3%) from the field and 7-15 (46.7%) from three-point range in the first half. The Vikings were led by Isaac Fink who had 18 first half points. The Vikings shot an impressive 25-36 (69.4%) from the field and 3-9 (33.3%) from three-point range in the first half.
In the second half, the Vikings started the half by slowly building up their lead. The Bulldogs struggled from the field to begin the half as well as the Vikings took an 68-48 lead. The Bulldogs battled back however as they managed to slowly chip into the Viking lead. The Bulldogs managed to get the lead down to 9 points as they trailed 77-68 with 6:00 minutes remaining. A
Joshua Brown three-pointer and a
Lincoln Meister three-point play brought the Bulldogs even closer to the comeback. The Bulldogs continued to battle as they got the deficit down to 4 points as they trailed 82-78 thanks to a
Drew Blair layup. The Vikings lead proved to be too much to overcome as the Vikings hit their free-throws down the stretch to seal the win. The Bulldogs could not complete the 20-point comeback as the Bulldogs lost 89-80. The Bulldogs shot 15-30 (50%) from the field and 2-11 (18.2%) from three-point range in the second half. The Vikings shot 12-33 (36.4%) from the field and 3-11 (27.3%) from three-point range.
The Bulldogs were led by
Joshua Brown who had 19 points on the night.
Austin Andrews also contributed 18 points while
Jack Middleton and
Drew Blair added 16 points and 14 points respectively.
Charlie Katona led the team with 9 rebounds on the night.
Jack Middleton led the team with 7 assists while
Drew Blair added 4 assists. Overall, the Bulldogs shot 33-62 (53.2%) from the field and 9-26 (34.6%) from three-point range. They also shot 5-10 from the foul line.
The Vikings were led by Isaac Fink who had 25 points on the night. Tyler Riemersma added 10 rebounds while Jameson Bryan led the team with 5 assists. Overall, the Vikings shot 37-69 (53.6%) from the field and 6-20 (30%) from three-point range on the night. They also shot 9-12 from the foul line.
Who's next:
The Bulldogs will remain on the road as they travel to face off against Wayne State at 5:30 pm on Saturday evening.
