The No.11 ranked University of Minnesota Duluth men's basketball team closed out their first weekend of conference play tonight, narrowly falling short in a 71-68 loss to the University of Sioux Falls Cougars.

Final Score: UMD (68) - USF (71)

After falling behind 34-16 to open up the afternoon, UMD collected nine unanswered points with 4:31 left in the first half to narrow its deficit to 34-25. The Bulldogs continued to close the gap as time winded down, cutting the USF lead to 36-29 by the end of the first half.

The Cougars kept widening their lead after intermission, constructing a 45-33 advantage before UMD went on a 12-0 run, finished off by Austin Andrews layup, to even the score at 45 all with 12:48 to go in the contest. The Bulldogs could not turn their rally into a victory, as USF outscored them 26-23 the rest of the way to hand UMD a 71-68 loss. The Bulldogs took care of business in the paint, recording 24 of their 39 points in the lane.

Bulldog Notes vs. USF

The Bulldogs had three players score in double figures, led by Mattie Thompson, who had 16 points, a team high nine rebounds and five steals. Joshua Brown added 13 points and six rebounds and Kole Hanson chipped in as well with 10 points off of the bench.

Thompson pulled down seven offensive rebounds to lead the UMD offense which grabbed 10 boards and turned them into 18 second chance points throughout the matchup.

UMD did a great job disrupting Sioux Falls shots in the contest, forcing 20 turnovers and tallying five blocks throughout the afternoon. Noah Paulson led the way individually for the Bulldogs with two rejections.

Looking Ahead

Bulldog men's basketball is back in Romano Gymnasium next weekend to host the Augustana University Vikings and the Wayne State College Wildcats. Tip-off against the Vikings is currently set for Friday, Dec. 13, at 7:30 PM.