The University of Minnesota Duluth men's basketball team earned its fourth Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) victory of the season in a 67-58 win over Minot State University inside Romano Gymnasium.
Leading the way for the Bulldogs in the points category was
Caleb Siwek with 13 total points, seven of which came from a 87.5% effort on the free throw line. Following close behind was
Jackson Fowlkes and
Kole Hanson with 11 points each. Fowlkes led the team in three-pointers, going 50% (3-6) beyond the arc and making 50% (4-8) from the field.
Entering the first half,
Nick Katona sent a three-pointer in to give the Bulldogs a lead a minute in. In the next four minutes, the Beavers chipped back to tie at 8-8 with 15:03 to go.
Mattie Thompson and Siwek combined for an answered five-point lead to give UMD the lead for the remainder before halftime.
The final 12 minutes of the first half, Fowlkes, Thompson, Hanson,
Peyton Rogers, and
Daniel Molhoek combine to outscore Minot 18-15, forcing a 31-23 lead into the halftime break.
After the break, UMD continued to expand the lead with a 14-10 run over the first five minutes as Siwek and
Noah Paulson combined for nine of the Bulldogs' points. Four minutes later, UMD found themselves on the receiving end of an 8-2 scoring run by the Beavers as the lead dropped to 47-41.
With under 10 minutes left, Hanson found room for seven points to outscore Minot's lone layup for an 11-point lead at 54-43. In the final eight minutes, the Beavers narrowly outscored the Bulldogs 15-13 to end the match at 67-58.
Overall, UMD went 36.4% (20-55) from the field, 28% (7-25) beyond the arc, and 74.1% (20-27) in free throws. The team overcame identical rebounding efforts with 40 total on each side of the court. Siwek led the rebounding effort with nine total rebounds. Katona led the way in steals with four for the team's highest individual effort this season.
UMD competes in its final home matchup before the holiday break this Saturday, hosting the University of Mary at 1:30 p.m.
