The University of Minnesota Duluth men's basketball team earned their first ever NCAA Tournament win in program history as they defeated Central Oklahoma on Saturday afternoon in Maryville, MO. The Bulldogs defeated the Bronchos, 62-56. UMD will move on to face the winner of Emporia State and Northern State on Sunday, March 12th (5:00 pm) at Bearcat Arena (Northwest Missouri State University).

UMD was led by Joshua Brown who scored a team high 21 points for the Bulldogs.

Both teams came out with high energy as they traded buckets during the first 10 minutes. UMD took an early lead at 11-6 on a second 3 pointer from Jack Middleton. The Bronchos would respond after the first media timeout with a steal by Curtis Haywood and layup by Jayln Turner. UMD would quickly respond as Austin Andrews put the Bulldogs back up front 13-12 with 12:21 to play in the first half.  

The Bronchos would then go on a 5-0 run after back-to-back steals by Curtis Haywood and a 3 pointer from Jaden Wells to put Central Oklahoma up 20-14 with just under 11:00 minutes remaining in the first half. Middleton would respond for the Bulldogs with two big buckets to set the score at 22-19 with 7:47 left in the first half. Teams would go the next two minutes without scoring until the Bronchos Preston Aymond hit 1 of 2 free throws to put the Bronchos up 7 (28-21) with under 4:00 minutes to play. UMD's Joshua Brown would score the next 3 points for UMD but Cam Givens would create a steal and Curtis Haywood would beat the buzzer as the Bulldogs trailed 35-25 at halftime.

The Bulldogs opened the second half with 3 quick points from Joshua Brown to put the score at 35-28. However, Central Oklahoma would answer before the first media timeout of the second half to maintain a 40-30 lead with 15:41 to play. The Bulldogs would respond with buckets from Brown and Austin Andrews to cut the lead to 5 with 13:29 to play. Central Oklahoma's Danquez Dawsey ended the Bulldogs run with a jumper to set the score at 46-38 at the 11:08 minute mark of the second half.

Drew Blair would come out of the media timeout with a big 3 pointer for the Bulldogs. The Bulldogs defense would ramp up, holding the Bronchos to only three points over the next 5 minutes as UMD would cut the lead to 49-46 with under 6:30 to play. Charlie Katona would hit a driving layup with 5:02 remaining to cut the Bronchos lead to one. Middleton would follow for the Bulldogs and Brown would nail a 3 pointer for UMD's first lead since 12:33 of the first half (51-49). Mattie Thompson would continue the run for the Bulldogs giving UMD a 4 point lead with 3:13 remaining.

Brown would hit his third 3 pointer of the game (his 21^st point) to put UMD up 56-51. The Bronchos would try to respond but Thompson made a huge block to maintain the lead at 57-54 with 1:09 remaining. Charlie Katona hit the dagger with a fade away that left UMD with a 59-54 lead with under a minute to play as shot clock expires. The Bulldogs would hold strong the rest of the way for its first ever NCAA Tournament victory. 

UMD would shoot 43.8% from the field and 39.1% from the three point line as they outscored the Bronchos 37-21 in the second half.
 
NEXT UP FOR THE BULLDOGS
Next up for the Bulldogs is the semi-finals of the NCAA Division II Central Region Championships on Sunday at 5:00 pm. UMD will tip-off against the winner of Emporia State and Northern State.