The University of Minnesota Duluth men's basketball team improved to a 5-2 record in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) competition before the holiday break after securing an 80-65 win over the University of Mary inside Romano Gymnasium.
Leading the charge for the Bulldogs was
Noah Paulson with his second 20-point game of the season. He led the way, shooting 10-14 (71.4%) from the field, collecting seven rebounds (two offensive), one assist, one block, and one steal. Following close behind was
Jackson Fowlkes with 18 points and shooting 54.5% (6-11) from the field with a 50% (2-4) in three-pointers. He also collected the team's season high in individual assists with five.
Entering the first half,
Mattie Thompson, Paulson, and
Nick Katona led an 11-2 scoring effort for the team's first lead of the game in under three minutes. The Marauders then flipped the effort in the next four minutes on a 10-2 run to set the Bulldog lead to 13-12. Right after a three-pointer by Jackson Ware overcame a set of free throws from Katona to tie the game up at 15-15 with 12:22 to go.
By the seven-minute mark, UMD had lifted a colossal 20-9 scoring effort with eight points by
Daniel Molhoek and seven from Fowlkes to jump out ahead 35-24. For the remainder of the half, the Bulldogs held firm to hold a 44-32 lead into the halftime break.
The Bulldogs kept the pace up as the first ten minutes of the second half saw
Caleb Siwek, Fowlkes, and Paulson combine for a 21-16 scoring run to push a 65-48 lead. The Marauders narrowly outscored the Bulldogs in the following five minutes with 10 points to cut the lead by one to 74-58. UMD held on to the lead in the final minutes to seal an 80-65 win.
Overall, the team shot 51.7% (31-60) from the field, 37.5% (6-16) beyond the arc, and 70.6% (12-17) from the free throw line. The team outscored the Marauders in points in the paint, 46 to 16, while out-rebounding them 41 to 33. Leading the rebounding effort for UMD was Katona with eight total rebounds (one offensive).
The Bulldogs return after the holidays with their first matchup of 2026 on January 3rd on the road against Bemidji State University. Tipoff is set for 1:30 p.m. inside BSU Gymnasium.
