The University of Minnesota Duluth men's basketball team rallied in the final two minutes to overpower the No. 4-seeded St. Cloud State University, advancing to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Central Region Championship for the first time since the 2022-23 season.

A colossal 37 points split between Kole Hanson (20) and Caleb Siwek (17) led the scoring effort for the Bulldogs. Hanson led the team with two steals while collecting five rebounds.

Entering the match, Hanson's opening three-pointer was the first UMD lead of the game, just nine seconds in. SCSU climbed back in on a 3-2 run to be tied at 5-5 with 14 minutes to go in the first half. Over the next five minutes, the Huskies broke past with seven points to overtake Siwek (3) and Daniel Molhoek (2).

The final ten minutes before halftime saw SCSU climb ahead 30-22 as Hanson (5), Mattie Thompson (3), Owen Leach (2), and Jackson Fowlkes (2) combined for 12 points, which was not enough to keep pace.

Coming out of halftime, the Huskies went up by 14 points at 39-25, outpacing Hanson's lone three-pointer. With 12:33 remaining, the Bulldogs had chipped back in on an 11-2 scoring run as Hanson led the way with seven points.

It took until under five minutes remained for UMD to come within two points of SCSU as a jumper from Siwek put the team behind 50-48. Siwek followed up with a three-pointer to obtain UMD's first lead since the first half with 3:38 left. A basket from beyond the arc by Luke Winkel looked to rally the Huskies, but UMD would fire an unanswered seven points between Hanson (2), Paulson (2), Siwek (2), and Owen Leach (1).

Notably, the final three points came in the final six seconds after a costly timeout was called with the ball in SCSU's hands. The timeout call came from the Huskies' bench, who had already utilized their final timeout, awarding not just two free throws to Siwek but also possession of the ball, helping seal the game at 61-55.

POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE

Overall, UMD hit 39.2% (20-51) from the field, 27.3% (6-22) beyond the arc, and 68.2% (15-22) from the free throw line. With some halftime adjustments, the Bulldogs brought the Huskies down to a low 29.4% (10-34) overall, being dragged down by a 14.3% (2-14) effort beyond the arc.

UMD now has a rest period before facing Oklahoma Baptist University in the NCAA Central Region Championship on Tuesday.