The No. 9 ranked University of Minnesota Duluth men's basketball team came up just short tonight, falling to No. 2 ranked Minnesota State University Mankato in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) championship game.
Halftime: UMD (41) - MSU (47)
The two top ranked teams kicked things off tonight trading successful shots from outside the arc. A trip to the line would launch a 6-4 scoring run for the Mavericks before once again trading three point shots. Seven unanswered points strung together by MSU over the next minutes would bring their lead up to nine, but not without a response from the Bulldogs who would get four off of a successful trip to the line by Middleton and a two point Thompson slam. The two teams would trade shots from the field to cap off the opening minutes.
MSU would continue into the latter minutes of the first half with an 11 point scoring run, taking a 32-17 lead at the eight and a half minute mark. The Bulldogs would get eight unanswered of their own to minimize the damage, as the two teams fell back into their state going bucket for bucket with each other. Dunk for three, jumper for jumper, UMD pulled out ahead in scoring to end the half but remained at a six point deficit.
The Bulldogs shot 15-29 (51.7%) from the field, 5-11 (45.5%) from outside the arc, and 6-7 (85.7%) from the charity line to close out the first half. UMD was shooting well when given the opportunity from all over the court but were getting beaten to the ball, collecting six turnovers and going -5 in the rebound count through the opening twenty.
Final Score: UMD (77) - MSU (97)
UMD started out the second half with the first three points off of a Blair free throw and an Andrews layup, going 7-4 in scoring through the opening two minutes. A four point run for MSU would quickly be negated by back to back threes for the Bulldogs, a situation that would mirror itself as another four point MSU run would be followed up by a UMD three point shot. The Mavericks would find a way to respond to the quick UMD denials, stringing together seven unanswered points. A pair of two point shots would briefly break up the momentum, until MSU would put together 10 unanswered to bring their lead to double digits with eight and a half minutes left. Despite a last minute Katona three pointer, the Bulldogs would be unable to match the scoring momentum of the Mavericks through the final minutes of the game and end the annual conference tournament with a loss.
UMD finished the night shooting 29-59 (49.2%) from the field, 9-18 (50%) from three point range, and 10-15 (66.7%) from the line. The Bulldogs improved their presence on the glass, recovering 19 rebounds in the second half to only end -1 in rebound count, but lost their control of the ball ending the night with 13 turnovers with seven of those coming in the second half.
NSIC All Tournament Team
Fifth year senior Drew Blair and senior Charlie Katona were named to the NSIC All Tournament team following the matchup. The pair was named last week to the NSIC all conference first team together, and the two collected the highest points for the Bulldogs tonight with 27 and 12 respectively.
Top Performers
Drew Blair lit up the charts for the Bulldogs, shooting 9-20 (45%) from the field, 4-9 (44.4%) from three point range, and 5-9 (55.6%) from the line for a game high 25 points. Charlie Katona shot 4-12 (33.3%) from the field, 2-3 (66.7%) from three point range, and 2-2 from the line for 12 points and a team high six rebounds.
Looking Ahead
Men's basketball awaits the NCAA Division II selection show on Sunday, Mar. 10, at 10 PM CST to reveal their fate for the rest of the 2023-24 season.
