The University of Minnesota Duluth men's basketball team secured their first weekend sweep of the new year tonight, taking down the No.12 ranked Minnesota State University Moorhead Dragons on the road to end the weekend.
Final Score: UMD (71) - MSUM (56)
After opening up the afternoon slow and falling behind 13-11, UMD went on a 5-0 run with 14:07 left in the first half, culminating in a three from Nick Katona, to take a 16-13 lead. The game would see four more ties and two more lead changes throughout the rest of the half as MSUM responded to tie things up at 35-35 heading into the halftime intermission.
UMD kept it close before collecting 10 unanswered points, finished off by a Charlie Katona layup, to open the half and seize a 52-42 lead with 12:36 to go in the contest. The Bulldogs kept expanding the margin, out-scoring the Dragons 19-16 throughout the remainder of the game and coasting to a 71-56 win to end the weekend. UMD took care of business in the paint in the half, recording 20 of its 36 points in the lane.
Bulldog Notes vs. MSUM
The Bulldogs had three players score in double figures, led by Charlie Katona, who had a game high 24 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Caleb Siwek added 16 points and eight rebounds and Nick Katona helped out with 11 points and two steals off of the bench.
UMD out-rebounded the Dragons 34-29 throughout the game, led by a game high 10 boards from Joshua Brown.
The Bulldog defense held MSUM shooters to only 38.9% from the field, including 28.6% from three-point range. The Bulldogs also kept Carson Johnson to 3-of-14 shooting and eight points in the game. The Dragons did not get many second chance opportunities on the offensive end, as they grabbed only four offensive rebounds and scored three second chance points while UMD pulled down 30 defensive rebounds.
Looking Ahead
Bulldog men's basketball (9-5, 4-4 NSIC) returns to Romano Gymnasium next weekend to kick off a three game homestand against the St. Cloud State University Huskies. Tip-off against the Huskie is currently scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 11, at 3:00 PM.
