The University of Minnesota Duluth men's basketball team finished out another week of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) play this afternoon on the road in South Dakota, collecting the regular season sweep over the Augustana University Vikings with a 76-66 road victory.
Final Score: UMD (76) - AU (66)
After falling behind 19-18 to open the afternoon, UMD went on a 10-0 run with 9:17 left in the first half to take a 28-19 lead. The Bulldogs then maintained that lead, matching the Vikings scoring 9-9 throughout the rest of the half to enter the halftime break with a 37-28 advantage. UMD relied on its three-point shooting in the period, knocking down six shots to account for 18 of its 37 points.
UMD kept its lead intact to start the second half before collecting six unanswered points to grow the lead to 63-54 with 7:38 to go in the contest. The Bulldogs continued to expand the margin and coasted the rest of the way for the 76-66 win. The Bulldogs made the most of five offensive rebounds to tack on nine second chance points out of 39 total in the period.
Bulldog Notes vs. AU
The Bulldogs had four players score in double figures, led by Austin Andrews, who had 19 points, nine rebounds and two steals. Nick Katona added 14 points and nine rebounds and Charlie Katona chipped in as well with 11 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.
UMD had a 45-34 edge on the boards in the win, cleaning up on the offensive glass with 14 offensive boards that turned into 21 second chance points.
The Bulldogs shared the ball well throughout the game, racking up 17 assists on 24 made field goals. Charlie Katona's eight assists paced the Bulldogs and Joshua Brown also helped out with three assists of his own.
The UMD defense held AU shooters to only 36.9% from the field. The Vikings did not get many second opportunities on the offensive end either, as they grabbed only nine offensive rebounds and scored six second chance points while the Bulldogs pulled down 31 defensive rebounds.
Looking Ahead
Bulldog men's basketball (16-7, 11-6) have a full schedule ahead of them next week as they prepare to play their final three home games of the 2024-25 regular season, welcoming the Minnesota State University Mankato Mavericks on Tuesday before hosting the Minnesota State University Moorhead Dragons and the Northern State University Wolves on Friday and Saturday. Tip-off against the Mavericks is currently set for 7:00 PM.
