The University of Minnesota Duluth men's basketball team is set to face Minot State University in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Tournament First Round. Tipoff is set for 6:00 p.m. tomorrow inside Romano Gymnasium.
SECOND NSIC NORTH DIVISION CHAMPIONS: With a 13-9 record, the Bulldogs clinched the NSIC North Division title after their 85-72 victory over Minnesota State University Moorhead. This marked the program's second title since its first in the 2021-22 season.
BULLDOGS AND THE NSIC TOURNAMENT: Under head coach Wiecks' leadership, the Bulldogs have a 9-5 record since the 2018-19 season. The 2021-22 season was the last time the program earned the North Division title, which saw them advance all the way to the championship, falling 81-73 to Minnesota State University Moorhead.
COACH WIECK'S 8TH SEASON: Head Coach
Justin Wieck enters his eighth season at the helm of UMD men's basketball. Since taking over the program in 2018, he has led the team to three NCAA II Tournament berths, all of which happened back-to-back, with one going all the way to the Elite Eight in the 2023-24 season. Wieck has an overall record of 142-58 with 99-43 in conference play.
HANSON HEATING UP: Kole has 11 double-digit games in the past 12 outings of the regular season. He tallied a career high 32 points against St. Cloud State to go along with 22 points against Minnesota State Mankato, 16 against Winona State, 28 against Concordia-St. Paul, 13 against Wayne State, 28 against Augustana, 14 against UMary, 23 against Minot State, 15 against Northern State, 18 against Minnesota Crookston, and 12 against MSUM.
SIWEK ON THE RISE: After being chosen as the NSIC's Player to Watch for the Bulldogs, redshirt junior
Caleb Siwek has gotten off to the best start in his career. He earned six straight games in the double-digit points category to start the season with 34 points on opening day against East Central, 20 points against Southeastern Oklahoma, 21 points against St. Scholastica, 12 points against Michigan Tech, 22 points against Lake Superior State, and 23 points against Bemidji State. He also finished the season on a hot streak, earning 19 points against Minnesota Crookston and 25 points against MSUM in the final week.
A COLOSSAL OUTING FOR PAULSON: In a narrow loss to the conference newcomer, the University of Jamestown,
Noah Paulson earned 28 points of the team's 70 while shooting 61.5% (8-13) from the field, 91.7% (11-12) in free throws, and making his only three-pointer for his best outing so far.
NSIC LEADERS: The Bulldogs, as a unit, are the third best in scoring defense (71.9 avg/g) in the NSIC, second in scoring margin (6.5), fourth in opponent field goals (43.8%), third in rebounding margin (2.8), first in combined opponent rebounds (32.7), and first in turnover margin (2.75). Individually,
Kole Hanson ranks fifth in free throws (86%)
LAST MATCH: UMD clinched the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) North Division title after toppling Minnesota State University Moorhead 85-72 in their regular-season finale.
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.
SCOUTING THE BEAVERS: Minot ranks fifth in the NSIC in field goals (47%) and fourth in free throws (75%). Their leading scorer is a two-time NSIC Player of the Week, Benjamin Deuce who is averaging 18.5 points,1.4 steals, two assists, and three rebounds per game.
GAME ONE AGAINST MINOT: UMD 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.
GAME TWO AGAINST MINOT: UMD fell in the final seconds to Minot State University, dropping to 9-9 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) competition.
Leading the effort for the Bulldogs with over 20 points was
Kole Hanson (23) and
Caleb Siwek (22). As the leading scorer, Hanson tallied 70% (7-10) from the field, 66.7% (2-3) beyond the arc, and 87.5% (7-8) from the free-throw line.
Entering the match, UMD got out to a 4-0 lead two minutes in off the effort of Hanson and
Noah Paulson. With 15:31 remaining on the clock, Minot had completed a 12-5 scoring run to take the lead for the first time at 12-9. The Bulldogs responded with a 13-9 scoring over the next five minutes, taking a 22-21 lead off the efforts of
Nick Katona (7), Paulson (3),
Mattie Thompson (2), and Siwek (1).
That marked the last time UMD was in command of the lead before the halftime break as Minot forced a 28-20 run, overpowering a colossal 11 points from Hanson to take a 49-42 lead into halftime.
Starting the last half, the Bulldogs found room for a 9-6 scoring run in the first five minutes. By the 8:24 mark, UMD reclaimed a lead on a 15-10 run off the efforts of Siwek (10), Katona (3), and Paulson (2). MSU continued to hold off UMD 75-74, scoring 10 points with under five minutes to go.
Hanson (4) and Siwek (2) tried to keep pace with the Beavers' eight points but continued to trail 83-80 with 60 seconds remaining. A three-point play by
Jackson Fowlkes tied the game at 83 with 12 seconds remaining. It looked to force overtime, but a final-second jumper by Deuce Benjamin sealed the Bulldog loss at 85-83.
Overall, UMD hit 64.4% (29-45) from the field, 38.9% (7-18) beyond the arc, and 75% (18-24) from the free throw line. The Bulldogs dominated points off turnovers with 28 to the Beavers' 18.
UMD Men's Basketball Set to Host NSIC First Round Against Minot State
