UMD Men Shoot Down UWS

NSO – NEWS RELEASE

Senior Brett Ervin dropped 22 points in his return to Romano Gymnasium after a redshirt season as the University of Minnesota Duluth got up early and held the University of Wisconsin-Superior at bay, winning 80-70 in Duluth on Tuesday night.

UMD (3-0) introduced fans to a number of new faces besides the returning Ervin, sending the Yellowjackets (1-1) back home without a win for the and giving the Bulldogs 90 wins all-time against UWS in 134 games.

TOP SCORERS
• Ervin led all scorers with 22 points of 7-of-15 shooting, while junior guard Pierre Newton netted 20 to go with a game-high 13 rebounds. Junior guard Brendon Pineda was 8-of-9 from the floor to finish with 17 points on the night. All 13 Bulldogs on the active roster saw time and eight had at least a basket.

• UWS got 17 points from Brian Lindblom, a junior forward, while junior guard Ty Ketz was 4-of-7 from beyond the arc to add 14 points as one of four Yellowjackets.

“The difference in the game was we had scholarship athletes against all non-scholarship athletes,” said head coach Matt Bowen after the game. The Bulldogs were able to draw fouls where UWS was not, finishing 22-of-29 from the charity stripe while the ‘Jackets were just 7-of-8, with all eight attempts coming from sophomore guard Zach Schradle. UMD also outmuscled UWS for rebounds, collecting 46 in the game compared to just 22 for Superior. The Yellowjackets kept their hopes alive with a hot-hand from three-point range, 11-of-26 on the night.

“This is their big game of the year, obviously. They come here every year and get up for it,” said Ervin after the win. “They play tough, and they’re a good team. It’s always good to be tested like that.” Superior minimized its mistakes against UMD, only making seven turnovers while shooting 41.3 percent from the floor, but the Bulldogs got off to a hot start, leading 11-3 just over four minutes into the game and extending that margin out to 16 points before the end of the half. UMD shot 50.0 percent, 15-of-30, in the opening 20 and really put the game out of reach, though the Bulldogs continued their hot shooting in the second half with 14 baskets on 26 attempts as they held on to their lead and the victory.

UP NEXT
The tough tests continue for the Bulldogs this weekend when a pair of NCAA II Tournament teams from 2013-14 come to town in Michigan Tech University on Saturday and the University of Wisconsin-Parkside on Sunday. Both games are scheduled to tip at 3:00 p.m.