Northland Sports Online

UMD Men Fall to Southwest State

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NSO – NEWS RELEASE

 

A night after making an epic comeback, the University of Minnesota Duluth could not muster another as Southwest Minnesota State University pulled away in the second half for an 78-59 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference victory in Marshall, Minnesota on Saturday night.

UMD (11-11, 8-8 NSIC) falls to 2-2 on a two-week road trip as it returns to Romano Gym next week, while the Mustangs (10-12, 6-10 NSIC) continue to climb the NSIC South Division ranks.

HIGHLIGHTS
• Junior guard Taylor Lavery dropped 18 points to lead the Bulldogs, hitting 5-of-9 three-pointers. Junior forward Brendon Pineda grabbed a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, a game-high. UMD took just nine trips to the free throw line, but made all nine.
• Five players hit double digits scoring for SMSU, led by Carter Kirk’s 17 off the bench. Mitch Weg finished with seven boards to lead the Mustangs

The Bulldogs shot 9-of-28 (32.1 percent) in the opening half, including 2-of-9 from three-point range, but hit on six trips to the free throw line to trail by just three at the break. UMD turned its shooting on in the second half, shooting 52.3 percent (12-of-23) including 6-of-10 three pointers,but took just three trips to the free throw line after taking 22 in the second half on Friday night.

As well as the Bulldogs shot in the second half, SMSU was just better: 56.7 percent on 31 shots after forcing six Bulldog turnovers and grabbing six offensive boards, making 7-of-10 three pointers and cashing in on 8-of-8 trips to the free throw line for 49 second-half points. After a three-pointer by Lavery tied the game out of the break, the Mustangs out-scored UMD 30-13 over the first ten minutes of the half and held off the Bulldogs the rest of the way.

UP NEXT
UMD returns to Romano Gym next weekend with just three weeks remaining in the regular season to lay claims to one of the top spots in the NSIC North Division. The Bulldogs host Upper Iowa University on Friday night. Opening tip is set for 8:00 p.m., following the women’s contest.

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