The University of Minnesota Duluth men's basketball team fired off its first Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) victory of the 2025-26 campaign after downing Bemidji State University 77-67.
Leading the scoring effort for the Bulldogs was
Caleb Siwek for the sixth time in a row this season. Siwek earned 23 points, two assists, one steal, and shot 53.3% from the field and 57.1% from the three-point line. Following close behind with career-high efforts were
Kole Hanson with 15 points and
Mattie Thompson with 14 points.
Entering the first half, UMD got on the scoreboard first with a layup from
Noah Paulson, but following that, Bemidji pushed 12 points out to lead the Bulldogs 12-6 in the first six minutes. The next few minutes saw the Beavers continue to pull away from UMD, finding a 26-13 lead with 10:55 to go in the first half.
The next two minutes had Siwek,
Wyatt McBeth, and
Jackson Fowlkes each score to cut the lead to six. An 11-6 scoring run by the Bulldogs put the game well within reach at 32-31 to put the Beavers on notice. Four
Owen Leach free throws put UMD back on top at the 1:27 mark to bring a 35-32 Bulldog lead into the halftime break.
A three-pointer from the Beavers out of halftime looked to change the momentum of the game as the first three minutes saw Bemidji pull out ahead 42-40. The score would continue to go back and forth until the 12:49 mark, where the Bulldogs began an unanswered 10-point run. After that, the lead settled in UMD's favor for the duration, with the Beavers unable to overpower the Bulldogs' deadlocking 19-19 scoring run, finalizing the score at 77-67.
As a team, the Bulldogs combined to shoot 38.9% from the field and a comfortable 86.7% from the free-throw line. UMD outrebounded Bemidji 45 to 32 and kept the ball 14 times on offense. Thompson and
Nick Katona led the team in rebounding with eight each.
The Bulldogs head back on the road for their final non-conference matchup of the season against Northern Michigan University on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 1:00 p.m. inside Vandament Arena.
