The No.16 ranked University of Minnesota Duluth men's basketball team finished their final weekend of non-conference play undefeated as they took down the Northern Michigan University Wildcats 74-72.
Halftime: UMD (34) - NMU (38)
UMD would jump out to an early lead in the beginning minutes of today's contest, putting together a string of seven unanswered points through the first six minutes to go up 8-4. The lead would be quick to exchange sides as the Wildcats would get eight unanswered for themselves. The two teams would go back and forth for buckets and find themselves within one point of each other by the final two minutes of the half. A run of seven in a minute and a half would set up NMU with a four point lead over the Bulldogs going into the break.
UMD would shoot 41.9% from the field with 4-11 shots from three point range. The Bulldogs found themselves trailing in rebounds with 17 compared to NMU's 20, giving the Wildcats the opportunity to earn nine fastbreak points and 12 second chance points through the first 20 minutes.
Final Score: UMD (74) - NMU (72)
The Bulldogs would continue to play from behind to start off the second half of the matchup. The Bulldogs would get the chance to close the three point deficit with a string of seven answered points for their first lead of the half. They would carry this lead down to the final five minutes until the Wildcats got back a string of nine for themselves to take a two point lead with two minutes left. A quick jumper from inside the arc in response and two successful free throw shots would put UMD back on top and allow them to finish off their undefeated weekend with a two point lead.
UMD closed out the afternoon shooting 28-56 from the field with a 35.3% three point percentage and a 70.6% percentage from the charity line. Despite being out rebounded and trailing in points from the paint, the Bulldogs strength from outside the arc compared to NMU's 14.3% three point percentage allowed them to power past the Wildcats offensively and keep things in their favor.
Top Performers
Graduate student guard Drew Blair stood at the top of the scoring charts today, shooting 8-17 from the field and 4-4 from the line for a game high 24 points. Senior guard Joshua Brown shot 7-12 from the field to be the Bulldogs' second highest scorer with 20 points and tallied a game high 6 rebounds.
Looking Ahead
Men's basketball will open up their conference schedule with their first homestand of the regular season at Romano Gymnasium. The action for the Bulldogs will tip off against Wayne State on Saturday, Dec. 2, at 12:00 PM.
