The No.17 ranked University of Minnesota Duluth men's basketball team extended their win streak this afternoon to double digits with a dominant 79-54 win over the University of Mary Marauders in their final Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) regular season road game.

Halftime: UMD (47) - UM (30)

UMD took control from the very start, opening the game with a 12-0 scoring run that would be bookended by back to back Blair three pointers. The Marauders would find their first bit of offensive production, trading small point streaks with the Bulldogs and would go 19-19 with them over the middle eight minutes. Three more combined three pointers from Middleton and Blair would help the Bulldogs outscore UM 16-11 to close out the half and carry a double digit lead into the intermission.

The Bulldogs shot 16-31 (51.6%) from the field, 9-13 (69.2%) from outside the arc, 6-10 (60%) from the charity line throughout the first half. UMD held control throughout the entire 20 minutes, benefiting from their six offensive rebounds and the Marauders' eight turnovers throughout the half to let their impressive offensive production get them ahead by a substantial margin.

Final Score: UMD (79) - UM (54)

The Bulldogs would open up the second half without missing a step, securing seven unanswered points through the first two and a half minutes. UMD would continue to have an answer for any kind of offensive production that the Marauders could muster, with another pair of three pointers from Blair and Siwek helping them outscore UM 25-18 through the middle 15 minutes of the half. The Marauders would collect six unanswered to close out the game, but it would be too little too late to climb the 31 point lead that the Bulldogs had already established.

UMD closed out their tenth straight win shooting 30-64 (46.9%) from the field, 11-20 (55%) from three point range, and 8-15 (53.3%) from the line. The Bulldogs surged with their three point success, more than doubling the 23.8% three point percentage from UMary, and secured over double the amount of offensive rebounds to control the game from the very start and move themselves into second place in the NSIC standings. 

Top Performers

Fifth year senior Drew Blair shot 7-14 (50%) from the field, 6-9 (66.7%) from three point range, and 4-4 from the line for a game high 24 points tonight while also collecting three rebounds and three assists. Graduate student Jack Middleton shot 6-8 (75%) from the field and 4-6 (66.7%) from three point range for 16 points tonight while also collecting three rebounds, three assists, and a steal. 

Looking Ahead

Men's basketball will make a return to Romano Gym next week to host the St. Cloud State University Huskies in their final game of the regular season. The action for the Bulldogs will tip off on Wednesday, Feb. 21, at 7:30 PM.