The UMD men's basketball team earned a win over Nebraska-Kearney on Saturday with a final score of 78-72. Rolling through the American Family Insurance Basketball Classic with a 2-0 record, the Bulldogs start the season hot.

Saturday's matchup didn't start off easy for the Bulldogs as Nebraska-Kearney came out of the locker room ready, starting the game on a 17-2 run led by Sean Evans. The sophomore guard had 11 of the Lopers' points in that stretch, including three three-pointers. After an early Bulldog timeout, UMD retaliated with a 25-7 run of their own to give them a three-point lead at a score of 27-24. Led by Drew Blair, who provided a much-needed scoring boost, Joshua Brown, who constantly pushed the pace and kept the energy high, and a huge bench spark, the Bulldogs found their way back into this game. Coming off the bench, Mattie Thompson and Joshua Strong did their part to help this huge run. Thompson supplied two quick buckets, and Strong held it down defensively, attaining three early steals. Lincoln Meister was also a valuable rotational piece who made his defensive presence known throughout the Bulldog's run with a steal and a block of his own. This combined effort was good enough to allow UMD to enter the locker room up 38-36.

The Bulldogs were able to weather early struggles from beyond the arc with physicality in the interior; they led the Lopers in points in the paint 24-10 through the first half. Blair led the way for UMD at the midway mark with 12 points. Brown supplied nine points, and Austin Andrews and Thompson chipped in six points as well. Andrews also led the rebounding efforts with five first-half boards. 

The second frame was a back-and-forth affair all the way until the final buzzer. The largest lead in the half was held by the Bulldogs when they found themselves up eight at a score of 68-60 with two minutes remaining. The Bulldogs were able to outscore the Lopers 40-36 in a game-of-inches half. Jack Middleton came alive for UMD in the second frame- he knocked down three huge three-pointers. Middleton, Charlie Katona and Blair controlled most of UMD's second-half scoring. Middleton tallied 13 points in the period. Blair stayed hot out of the locker room, contributing nine second-half points, and Katona scored all nine of his points in the contest in the second half. Charlie Katona had a massive, momentum-shifting two-handed dunk in the second half. This slam sparked a Bulldog run, and they never looked back. Down the stretch, Katona pitched in four free throws to help seal the deal. 

By the end of the game, the Bulldog offense was led by Blair, who had 21 points to go along with a pair of steals and four rebounds. Andrews tallied his second double-double in two nights with 11 points and 10 boards. Middleton went 4-10 from three-point land and scored 16 points total. Brown finished with 13 points, three rebounds, three assists, and two steals of his own in his return to the lineup.

Nebraska-Kearney was led by Evans' game-high 26 points (including five threes) and Darrian Nebeker, who amassed 19 points on 9-16 shooting.

WORDS FROM WIECK:
UMD found itself facing an early challenge as they quickly went down 17-2. Battling back was no small order. The Bulldogs were able to do that and then some by taking the lead. Wieck credited this as a testament to the effort of his bench unit, which put in a huge performance for the second-consecutive game.

"Obviously, it wasn't the ideal start," Wieck said. "You know, this is what we're trying to learn a little bit with having a target on your back and being ranked where we are. You're going to get everybody's best shot right out of the gate, and two games in a row, I didn't think we started with the kind of energy and intensity we needed. But again, our bench came in, Zach Lea came in, Mattie Thompson had a couple of huge buckets, big plays. Josh Strong (played well), Meister had a couple of blocks, so once again, our bench kind of got us back into the game quite honestly, so credit to them. We've said all along we have a deep team. Those (bench) guys have brought energy, and we've got to figure out a way for our starting guys to start with that energy. That'll be a focus here this week."

In two games in a row, the Bulldogs have been faced with adversity. Both times, they've answered the call. Even still, as has already been alluded to, Wieck knows there is work to be done- especially with another tough weekend slate right on the radar.

"The goal obviously is to win, but we're also learning some things about our team and things we need to work on, and that's why you go through this first weekend," Wieck said. "We want it all to be perfect, but it's not going to be perfect this early, no matter how many guys you got back. We've got work to do this week, and we've got a heck of a weekend ahead of us against two really good teams. I know our guys are looking forward to playing that classic in Aberdeen, but my mission to them when we talked after the game was we've got to get better in practice... Our intensity has to be better in practice because that's carrying over into these games. It's great to be 2-0- we've got a lot of things to work on, a lot of things to learn, and hopefully, we can keep getting better throughout the year."

UP NEXT:
The Bulldogs will be back in action next weekend  as they travel to Aberdeen, S.D. to participate in the inaugural Small College Basketball Champions Classic. On Friday, November 18, UMD matches up against Point Loma at 8:00 p.m. On Saturday, November 19, the Bulldogs face off against Ferris State, also at 8:00 p.m