The University of Minnesota Duluth men's basketball team fell just short of the comeback tonight, losing 58-62 in their Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) matchup against the No.5 ranked Minnesota State University Moorhead Dragons.
Halftime: UMD (16) - MSUM (25)
UMD got off to a slow start with the scoring tonight as the two teams seemed to be pressuring the defense through the early minutes, falling to a 6-13 deficit through the first nine minutes. A quick six point run courtesy of Blair, Meister, and Thompson would get the Dogs back within one. However, the Dragons would respond with a run of 10 unanswered points to go back up by double digits with three minutes left. A few last minute layups would cut that down a bit, but still leave UMD at a nine point deficit going into the intermission.
The Bulldogs shot 8-26 (30.8%) from the field, 0-9 from outside the arc, and 0-3 from the charity line throughout the first half of tonight's matchup. UMD simply struggled to get things going on the offensive side of the ball while deadlocked in a strong defensive battle with the Dragons.
Final Score: UMD (58) - MSUM (62)
A quick six point run two open the second half would get the Bulldogs back within three points with roughly 18 minutes left. The Dragons would hold UMD to a lone three a few free throws to outscore the Bulldogs 5-11 over the next four minutes, but a pair of Middleton free throws would kick off a nine point run and scoring stretch of 16-4 for UMD to take a 43-40 lead with just under 10 minutes left. They would extend that lead over to 54-48, outscoring MSUM 11-8 over the next five minutes. A nine point run for the Dragons though would put them back up by three as time winded down into the final two minutes, a lead that they would hold on to as they game closed out.
UMD came out of tonight's matchup shooting 20-58 (34.5%) from the field, 3-19 (15.8%) from three point range, and 15-21 (71.4%) from the free throw line. The Bulldogs were able to force four different lead changes after finding a resurgence in their offensive production throughout the second half, but inevitably missed too many opportunities from the line to close out the comeback.
Top Performers
Senior forward Charlie Katona shot 4-13 (30.8%) from the field for a team high 13 points tonight while also collecting six rebounds, one block, one steal, and one assist. Senior forward Lincoln Meister shot 3-3 from the field and 7-9 (77.8%) from the free throw line to tie the team high with 13 points while also collecting seven rebounds and two blocks.
Looking Ahead
Men's basketball will switch their attention towards South Dakota tomorrow where they will take on the Northern State University Wolves. The action for the Bulldogs will tip off at 6:00 PM.
