The University of Minnesota Duluth men's basketball team has earned its entry into the NSIC Tournament Championship round after overpowering Augustana University 72-62 Monday.
"Our guys were on it for 40 minutes, and we got so much respect for those guys," said head coach
Justin Wieck. "They scored 95 points on us last time. You know, it wasn't perfect, but holding them to 40%, the defensive effort is what got us here."
Entering the first half, the forwards defined the first seven minutes with
Nick Katona (8) and
Noah Paulson (4) hammering in the first 12 points for a 12-4 lead over Augustana. The 9:02 mark was the closest the Vikings would get to the Bulldogs in the first half as they trailed 17-16.
Owen Leach (7),
Caleb Siwek (5), and
Mattie Thompson (3) silenced the Vikings on a combined 15-4 scoring tilt to force a 32-20 lead into the halftime break. Up to that point, the Bulldogs gathered nine offensive rebounds to keep the ball out of the Vikings' hands while holding to a low 11.1% (1-9) beyond the arc.
From then on, the game was firmly in UMD's hands as the defense locked Augustana out by eight or more points for the duration. Paulson and
Kole Hanson led the last half's scoring effort with 10 points each.
"My challenge to them before the game was, we got to find one more level, because we've been here before," said Wieck. "We've been here, not last year, but three previous years in a row. I told them the bottom line is, if you want to win the NSIC Semifinal game against Augustana, you've got to be better."
And better they were, holding the tournament's No. 2 seeded Augustana to 40% from the field, 31.6% beyond the arc, and shutting down the NSIC South Division Player of the Year, Tameron Ferguson, to just two points in the first half. With 14 offensive rebounds by the end, the Bulldogs' defense stepped up and kept the ball out of the Vikings' hands.
Overall, UMD put Augustana in the rear-view in the first half on a 39.4% (13-33) shooting effort from the field and a 54.5% (6-11) effort beyond the arc.
Individually, Paulson led the scoring effort with 14 points while hitting 71.4% (5-7) from the field, 66.7% (2-3) beyond the arc, and 66.7% (2-3) from the free throw line. He also tallied seven rebounds with a team-leading four offensively.
The Bulldogs will compete in the NSIC Tournament Championship game tomorrow at 7 p.m. against St. Cloud State University. This will mark the program's first championship round since the 2023-24 season.
