Men's Basketball Release: February 10
Minnesota Duluth 73, North Dakota 68
Grand Forks, N.D. -- Trailing by as many as 15 points with eight minutes remaining, North Dakota men's was within one point of Minnesota Duluth in the final minute. However, the Sioux could not topple the Bulldogs and lost 73-68 in front of 3,019 at Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.
With 7:59 remaining in regulation, UMD's Bryan Foss hit a jumper to put the Bulldogs up 64-49. It matched their biggest lead.
The Sioux, who were dressed only eight players due to injuries and a suspension, answered. Mike Gutter scored two of his game-high 18 points on a pair of free throws. That started a 11-0 run to pull the Sioux within 64-60 at the 5:14 mark. Emmanuel Little did much of the damage during that run, scoring six of his 10 points.
The teams traded points and Duluth later held a 68-62 lead with 2:33 remaining in regulation after Jahn Vaudreuil sank a jumper. UND again responded.
Travis Bledose was fouled on a three-point attempt and made all three free thows to pull the Sioux within three points. Then on Duluth's next possession, Wes Porter stole the ball in the paint and was fouled. He hit both of his double bonus free throws to pull UND within 68-67 with 59 seconds remaining.
But that was as close as they would come. The Bulldogs hit five-of-six free throws to end it.
Bledsoe also scored a game-high 18 points for the Sioux. That was a personal best.
The teams traded leads in the first half. The game was tied six times and there was eight lead changes. The Bulldogs had a mini-run in the final four minutes that gave them a 36-30 lead at the half. Tied at 25 with 3:59 remaining, Duluth scored the next seven points.
Foss led Duluth with 18 points. Hockett had 15 off the bench and Jordan Nuness ended with 13.
Minnesota State 62, Nebraska-Omaha 59
Omaha, Neb. -- A 20-point effort from senior Zac Robinson and a dominant team effort on the glass wasn't enough for Nebraska-Omaha to upset Minnesota State as the visitors took a 62-59 win at Sapp Fieldhouse.
Nebraska-Omaha got 14 from Robinson in the first half, including four 3-pointers. The bigger surprise was in rebounding, as Keith Price, Jerry Bennett and Justin Petersen had five each in the first half, helping UNO to a 24-16 advantage. The scoreboard reflected it, as the host Mavericks held a 34-29 lead at the break.
UNO continued its strong play on the glass, finished with 43 boards to 34 for the visitors. The home team extended its lead to 11 points with 14:42 remaining, on one of Robinson's two second-half triples. But a 3-pointer by Tony Thomason and two layups from Luke Anderson sparked a 15-3 run that put the visiting Mavericks in front by a point.
UNO kept it within two possessions the remainder of the way, but a last-second 3-point attempt by Denny Johnston fell short, allowing Minnesota State to escape with the win.
Price finished with a team-high eight rebounds, adding 12 points. Bennett finished with nine points and seven boards.
Paris Kyles led MSU with 15 points, adding seven assists. Thomason scored 14 with eight boards, and Anderson had 12 points.
South Dakota 91, St. Cloud State 63
Vermillion, S.D. -- South Dakota used a dominating performance in the first 20 minutes of play to cruise past St. Cloud State 91-63 before 4,482 spectators in the DakotaDome. The Coyotes roared out to a 57-19 lead at the break, and cruised through the rest of the game to record the wire-to-wire win.
This was the largest margin of victory for South Dakota in a NCC game since recording a 41-point triumph over Minnesota State during the 2001-02 campaign.
South Dakota's Eric Hall had an incredible first half by going for 24 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including drilling 6-of-8 attempts from beyond the arc. His pace fell off in the second half after the game was already decided, but still tied his season-high with 27 points and matched his career-high with seven three-point field goals. Hall also added six rebounds, which included a career-best three on the offensive end.
Tyler Cain also had a dominating effort for the Coyotes by establishing USD season-highs with 13 rebounds and six blocked shots. Dylan Grimsley and Jesse Becker each added 15 points for the Coyotes, with Grimsley also contributing nine rebounds and three assists. Steve Smith tied a season-high with four blocked shots on the evening while scoring 12 points and snaring eight rebounds.
Only two Huskies reached double-digits, and neither one came from their starting line-up. Brett Carmichael came off the bench to sink all eight shots he attempted for a team-high 16 points, and he also led SCSU with seven rebounds. Kelly Byrne added 13 points and six rebounds for St. Cloud State.
During USD's first-half onslaught, in which it tripled the Huskies score at halftime, the Coyotes shot 61.3% from the floor while holding SCSU to just 20.0%. The momentum shifted slightly in the second half, but South Dakota still ended up connecting on 49.2% of its shots while the Huskies checked in at only 33.3% for the game.
South Dakota also grabbed a season-high 54 rebounds on the evening,
which was 19 more than SCSU was able to post. The Coyotes' 14
three-pointers matched a season-high for the club, while USD's 12
blocked shots were a season-best effort.