Last week, the Bulldogs hosted the Minnesota State Moorhead Dragons and the Northern State Wolves.
To start the game, the Dragons started off hot from the offensive end as they jumped out to a quick 7-2 lead. From there, the Bulldogs battled back quickly as a Joshua Brown three-pointer tied up the game at 7-7. Both teams struggled offensively for the next few possessions as neither team could find rhythm on the offensive end. Drew Blair followed up the Dragons run with a step back three-pointer to give the Bulldogs the lead once again. Teams once again traded baskets to end the half as the Dragons hit a three-pointer to end the half as they took a 36-34 halftime lead.
A combination of Drew Blair and Austin Andrews baskets to begin the half gave the Bulldogs a 46-43 lead with 15:17 remaining in the second half. Charlie Katona followed that up with a three-point play to extend the Bulldog lead. The Dragons battled back however and managed to get the Bulldog lead down to 7 points, but Jack Middleton answered with a big three-pointer to get the Bulldog lead back to 10 points as they led 65-55 with 7:00 minutes remaining. Drew Blair kept up his hot shooting from last weekend as he knocked in a big three-pointer to extend the Bulldog led to 14 points. The Dragons once again responded as the cut the Bulldog lead to within 10 points as they trailed 72-63 with 3:23 remaining in the game. Thanks to a shooting foul and a pair of technical fouls, Drew Blair hit 6 straight free throws to push the game out of reach down the stretch. The Bulldogs went on to win the game 80-70.
Joshua Brown started the game for the Bulldogs with a three-pointer out of the gates. The Bulldogs started hot on offense as they Jumped out to a quick 11-4 lead. From there, the Bulldogs continued their hot start as they went on a 11-5 run to take a 22-9 lead with 11:17 remaining in the game. Joshua Brown capped off a strong first half with a layup at the buzzer to give the Bulldogs a 46-32 first half lead.
The Bulldogs took a 53-45 lead at the fist media timeout with 14:46 remaining in the half. The Wolves managed to chip into the Bulldog lead, thanks to the foul situation. Austin Andrews responded with back-to-back layups to give the Bulldogs a 76-67 lead with 4:22 remaining in the half. Andrews added another basket, an alley-oop from Charlie Katona, to once again extend the Bulldogs lead down the stretch. Andrews capped off a strong second half with a fast break dunk as the Bulldogs exclamation point to their win. The Bulldogs closed out the Wolves as they won 88-75.
North Division Champions
Last weekend, the Bulldogs clinched the North Division, which claimed their first ever North Division regular season championship. They also hold a slight advantage over Augustana for the top spot in the NSIC, with just four games remaining in the regular season.
For The Record
The Bulldogs come into the matchup with a 21-2 (14-2) record.... Mary currently holds a 8-14 (7-10) record on the season... Minot State comes into the weekend with a 13-7 (7-7) record.
Previous Meetings
Coming into this matchup, the Bulldogs hold a slight advantage over the Marauders as they have won 4 of the last 5 matchups between the two teams. Their last matchup came earlier this season on 12/11/2021 when the Bulldgos won 77-64 in Duluth.
The Bulldogs have won 6 straight games against the Beavers. The Bulldogs last loss came during the 2017-18 season. Their most recent matchup came on 12/10/21 when the Bulldogs won 91-73.
Scouting the Marauders
The Marauders are currently ranked 14th in the NSIC in scoring as they are averaging 68.6 points per game. They also are 13th in the conference as they are allowing 75.2 points per game. Kai Huntsberry leads the Marauders in scoring as he is averaging 18.4 points per game, good for 5th in the conference.
Scouting the Beavers
Minot State comes into the weekend with the 3rd highest scoring offense averaging 82.8 points per game. They are also allowing 73.3 points per game, good for 11th in the NSIC. The Beavers are led by Melvin Newbern, who is averaging 15.3 points per game, good for 17th in the conference.
NSIC North Player of the Week
Sophomore Austin Andrews has been named the NSIC North Player of the Week five times this year. Andrews recently put up 21.5 points, 10 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 2 steals to earn Player of the Week Honors this past week. Andrews has also helped lead the Bulldogs to a No. 6 ranking in the country.
Redshirt Junior Drew Blair began with a bang as he received the NSIC North Division Player of the Week following his performance during the opening weekend of the season. Blair was also named the North Division player of the week for week 11 after he exploded from three-point range and shot 12-15 for the weekend and tied his career high with 33 points against Sioux Falls. Blair averaged 27.0 points, 4.0 rebounds two weekends ago. He also shot 72% from the field, including 80% from three-point range.
Points, Points, Points
The Bulldogs come into the week with the top ranked offense in the NSIC as they are averaging 88.4 points per game. They are also 8th in the country in scoring offense. The Bulldogs also currently have the best shooting percentage in the conference and fourth best in the country.
Offensive Fireworks
The matchup between the Bulldogs and Beavers will feature two of the top three offenses in the conference. The Bulldogs currently are first in the conference in scoring while the Beavers have the 3rd ranked offense. Both offenses are also 1st and 2nd in the conference in field goal percentage.
Two of the Conferences Best
The Bulldogs currently feature two of the top 5 scorers in the conference. Sophomore Austin Andrews currently is tied for second in the conference averaging 19.3 points per game while Redshirt Junior Drew Blair is also tied for second in the conference averaging 19.3 points per game. Andrews is also 2nd in the conference in rebounding as he is averaging 9.7 rebounds per game.
Nationally Ranked
Following the Bulldogs 16-0 start, they have been noticed across the country. The Bulldogs have been ranked No. 5 in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) poll and were ranked No. 6 in the Division II Sports Information Director Association (D2SIDA) Poll. The No. 5 ranking is the highest the Bulldogs have ever been ranked. After their first loss to Upper Iowa, the Bulldogs dropped to No. 9 in the NABC poll. In this weeks poll, the Bulldogs received the No. 6 ranking. The Bulldogs are one of three NSIC teams to be ranked in the NABC poll. Upper Iowa (20-4) was ranked No. 19 in the country. Augustana (19-2) was ranked No. 9.
