The University of Minnesota Duluth men's basketball team clinched the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) North Division title after toppling Minnesota State University Moorhead 85-72 in their regular-season finale.
With a 13-9 record, the Bulldogs have clinched the NSIC North Division title. This marks the program's second title since its first in the 2021-22 season.
Leading the way for the Bulldogs was
Caleb Siwek with 25 points while hitting 66.7% (6-9) from the field, 50% (2-4) beyond the arc, and 91.7% (11-12) from the free throw line.
The Bulldogs broke out to a 16-8 lead in the first nine minutes between the efforts of
Caleb Siwek (4),
Mattie Thompson (3),
Noah Paulson (3),
Kole Hanson (2),
Nick Katona (2), and
Jackson Fowlkes (2). The Dragons found room for a 13-10 run to chip back within five points at 26-21 with 6:16 before the halftime break.
In the last five minutes before halftime, the Bulldogs held the Dragons from closing the gap with nine points to hold a 35-30 lead.
After the break, the Bulldogs continued to widen the gap in the first five minutes with 12 points between Siwek (6), Paulson (4), and Katona (2) for a 47-34 lead. UMD continued with an 11-7 scoring run led by Siwek's seven points to hold down MSUM 58-41 with 9:44 remaining.
Over the next five minutes, Hanson was the only layup of a nine-point effort that saw seven free throws from the Bulldogs, with the Dragons overcoming the effort with 16 points to bring the lead down to 67-57.
The final five minutes saw Siwek (7), Hanson (4),
Cole Lahti (3),
Daniel Molhoek (2), Katona (1), and
Karon Abdullah (1) combine for 18 points to hold on to an 85-72 victory.
Overall, UMD was helped by the team's greatest free-throw effort of the season, with 41 free throws made of the team's 85 total points. The Bulldogs finished the day hitting 48.8% (20-41) in field goals, 30.8% (4-13) beyond the arc, and 74.5% (41-55) from the free throw line.
UMD has clinched a first-round bye in the NSIC Tournament and now awaits its opponent in the quarterfinals. The quarterfinals will be held at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota Saturday.
