The University of Minnesota Duluth men's basketball team earned its first Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) victory over the University of Jamestown, with Paulson's 23 points leading a 90-55 rout.
Leading the scoring effort for the Bulldogs was
Noah Paulson with his second over-20-point game of the season. He tallied 23 points, one steal, three blocks, two assists, and seven rebounds while shooting 83.3% (10-12) from the field and two for two from beyond the arc. Also clobbering the paint was
Mattie Thompson with 17 points, two blocks, one assist, and seven rebounds.
Jamestown was the first to score on a jumper 19 seconds in. UMD didn't stay down long, finding room to start a 23-8 scoring run off the colossal scoring effort of Thompson (8), Paulson (8),
Caleb Siwek (4), and
Nick Katona (3) to force a 23-10 lead with 9:44 remaining.
UMD continued to hold off Jamestown over the next five minutes on a 10-7 scoring run as Paulson continued to lead with five points, hitting his first three-pointer of the night. Paulson put up another five of the Bulldogs' 13-point breakaway run, outscoring the Jimmies six points with help from
Jackson Fowlkes (3),
Kole Hanson (3), and Katona (2) for a 56-23 lead into halftime.
After the halftime break, the Bulldogs continued to expand the lead, scoring 11 points to the Jimmies' nine in the first five minutes, with Thompson leading the charge with five points. By the 10:11 mark, UMD doubled the Jamestown scoring effort with 14 points off a combined effort from Thompson (4), Siwek (4), Paulson (2),
Daniel Molhoek (2), and Fowlkes (2) for a 71-39 lead.
Jamestown could not climb back in as UMD forced a 19-16 run to close out the final 10 minutes for their first NSIC victory over the Jimmies.
Overall, UMD hit 55.6% (35-63) from the field, 54.5% (12-22) beyond the arc, and 50% (8-16) from the field. The Bulldogs also out-rebounded the Jimmies 41-33, with Thompson and Paulson leading individually with seven rebounds each.
The Bulldogs now hold a 10-9 NSIC record and are in a three-way tie (NSU and UJ) for the North Division. UMD hosts Northern State University on Saturday with tipoff set for 3:30 p.m. inside Romano Gymnasium.
