Sioux Falls, SD – The No. 12 Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs faced off against the Mary Marauders on Saturday morning in the quarterfinals of the NSIC tournament. After a tight first half, the Bulldogs offense exploded for 50 second half points as they went on to win 84-73. The Bulldogs will face the winner of Upper Iowa vs Northern Sate tomorrow at 11:00 am.
Charlie Katona got the scoring started early for the Bulldogs with a layup off an assist from
Austin Andrews. Both teams went on to trade baskets during the beginning of the first half. The Marauders were able to jump out to an early lead, but a
Drew Blair three-pointer right before the first media timeout cut the Bulldogs deficit down as they trailed 11-9 with 14:21 remaining in the first half. The Bulldogs responded quickly out of the timeout as
Joshua Brown hit a three-pointer to give the Bulldogs a 16-13 lead. Teams continued to battle back and forth as neither team could take advantage and pull ahead. After a short Marauder run, back-to-back baskets from
Charlie Katona and
Austin Andrews once again gave the Bulldogs a lead as they led 30-29 with 3:50 left in the half. Down the stretch, teams continued to trade baskets as another
Drew Blair jump shot tied up the game with :36 seconds remaining. But the Marauders answered at the buzzer as the Marauders took a 36-34 halftime lead. The Bulldogs shot 16-34 (47.1%) from the field and 2-11 (18.2%) from three-point range in the first half. Kai Huntsberry was hot in the first half as he had 23 points in the first half. The Marauders shot 14-37 (37.8%) from the floor and 6-14 (42.9%) from three-point range.
Charlie Katona once again got the half started for the Bulldogs as he hit a jumper to tie the game up early in the second half. Teams continued to battle and trade baskets early in the second half as the Marauders took a 43-42 lead into the first media timeout. The Bulldogs came out of the media timeout with back to back three-pointers from
Joshua Brown and
Jacob Shields as the Bulldogs offense began to heat up.
Joshua Brown stayed hot as he responded with another three-pointer, followed up by a fast break layup to extend the Bulldogs lead. A
Drew Blair fast break dunk capped off a 7-0 Bulldogs run as the Bulldogs led 57-48 with 10:24 remaining in the first half. This run proved to be crucial in the second half as the Bulldogs managed to keep the Marauders slightly out of reach for the remainder of the half. The Bulldogs managed to match the Marauders down the stretch as a
Drew Blair jump shot have the Bulldogs a 71-59 lead with 4:38 remaining in the half. From there, the game was out of reach for the Marauders as the Bulldogs managed to close them out down the stretch as the Bulldogs went on to win the game 84-73. The Bulldogs offense came alive in the second half as they shot 19-34 (55.9%) from the field and 5-12 (41.7%) from three-point range in the second half. The Marauders shot 13-26 (50%) in the second half and 5-10 (50%) from three-point range.
The Bulldogs were led by First Team All-Conference selection
Drew Blair who had 20 points on the night to lead the Bulldogs. NSIC North Division Player of the Year
Austin Andrews had another monster night as he had 19 points, 15 rebounds (tied a career high), and 5 assists on the night.
Charlie Katona added 16 points on the night while
Joshua Brown added 15 points.
Drew Blair also added 7 rebounds while
Jack Middleton added 4 assists on the night. Overall, the Bulldogs shot 35-68 (51.5%) from the field and 7-23 (30.4%) from three-point range on the night. They also shot 7-12 from the foul line.
The Marauders were led by Kai Huntsberry who had a career-game with 42 points. Davids Atelbauers also added 16 points on the night. Huntsberry led the team with 9 rebounds. Overall, the Marauders shot 27-63 (42.9%) from the field and 11-24 (45.8%) from three-point range on the night. They also shot 8-11 from the foul line.
Who's Next:
The No. 12 Bulldogs will be back in action on Monday February 28 at 11:00 AM. They will face the winner of Upper Iowa vs Northern State.
