Wednesday, February 21
Duluth, Minn.
7:30 P.M. CT
St. Cloud State
at
Minnesota Duluth
Photo by: Jacob Sanders
St. Cloud State Men’s Basketball Heads to Duluth for Wednesday Tilt
2/20/2024 7:08:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Huskies have won 4 of 6, look to continue to improve conference tournament seed
ST. CLOUD, Minn. – St. Cloud State Men's Basketball (12-14, 8-12 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference) travels to play No. 12 Minnesota Duluth (22-5, 17-4 NSIC) on Wednesday in its second to last regular season game. The game will tip off at 7:30 p.m. at Romano Gymnasium in Duluth.
FOLLOW THE HUSKIES
The game will be streamed live for free on the NSIC Network and broadcasted on The Varsity Network. Steve Linzmeier, the Voice of St. Cloud State Basketball, can be heard on the audio broadcast. Live stats will be provided by UMD. Links to each coverage option can be found on the St. Cloud State Men's Basketball schedule page.
LAST TIME OUT
Last weekend, St. Cloud State played two games at Halenbeck Hall. The Huskies welcomed Southwest Minnesota State on Friday and Sioux Falls on Saturday.
SMSU burst out of the gates on Friday with a 9-0 in the first two minutes and 14 seconds of the game. The Huskies finally put their first points on the board after senior Matt Willert (Buffalo, Minn.) netted a three-pointer at the 15:39 mark. Despite the slow start, SCSU battled back with a 7-0 run as graduate student Luke Taylor (Germantown, Wis.) finished a layup in the paint and then drained a corner three-pointer off a Willert assist. Freshman Anish Ramlall (Rosemount, Minn.) tied the game at 11 with a three-pointer of his own off another assist by Willert. The Mustangs responded to the Huskies run by knocking down three three-pointers in the midst of an 11-3 run to take a 22-14 lead with 5:46 left in the first half. SMSU held a lead as big as 10 points in the final minutes of the half but went into the break with a 30-22 lead after Jake Phipps finished a layup with 23 seconds remaining.
The Huskies struggled in the first half, shooting a mere 27% from the field and committing six turnovers. SCSU was able to keep themselves within striking distance by knocking down five of their 12 three-point attempts – a 41% clip. SMSU shot 48% from the field and 40% from beyond the arc.
Both teams struggled to begin the second half, as Willert made the first field goal of the half with a three-pointer off of a ghost screen action. The Mustangs responded with a three-pointer of their own and then capped off a 6-2 run with a thunderous dunk to take a 41-27 lead with 13:07 remaining in the game. SMSU held a lead as big as 16 points in the second half and led by 8+ points for final stretch of the game. The Huskies went on to lose, 65-52.
Five players scored eight or more points for the Mustangs, but Cliff Cofield led the way with 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting while grabbing seven rebounds and recording two steals. Mason Lund and Jake Phipps each scored 12 points for SMSU.
The first half offensive struggles continued for the Huskies in the second half as they shot 29% from the field and 28% for the game. The three-pointers that had helped SCSU in the first half did not drop in the second half as they shot 21% from beyond the arc on their 19 attempts.
Matt Willert led the Huskies with 16 points on 5-of-11 shooting in 25 minutes off the bench. Willert also made three three-pointers, grabbed three rebounds and dished out two assists. The senior has now grabbed 3+ rebounds in five consecutive games. Luke Taylor was the Huskies second leading scorer with eight points on 3-of-5 shooting. Taylor connected on two of his three three-point attempts, grabbed three rebounds and recorded a steal. Freshman Wyatt Hawks (White Bear Lake, Minn.) nearly recorded a double-double as he scored six points and totaled a game-high nine rebounds. Hawks also tied his career-high with blocks as she swatted three shots in the game.
Saturday's game against Sioux Falls served as Senior Day for the Huskies where they honored Willert, Taylor, Joe Mutimer (Melbourne, Australia) and Craig Steele (Portage, Wis.) before the game. St. Cloud State carried that pregame momentum into the first few minutes of the game opening with a 7-3 run that saw freshman Jamiir Allen (Milwaukee, Wis.) cash a three. The Cougars started to find their offensive footing with a 9-0 run, taking a 12-7 lead after Kyle Ingwerson cashed two three-pointers. The teams battled back-and-forth for the next seven minutes but neither team was able to take control. With 6:54 remaining in the half, USF embarked on a 7-0 run to give them a 29-18 lead. The Cougars stretched that lead to 15 points with 3:12 left in the half. The Huskies were able to recapture some momentum, closing the half on a 9-2 as Willert nailed a three-pointer from the top of the key off an assist by Allen. A strong final stretch in the half resulted in the Huskies only trailing by eight going into the break.
St. Cloud State had struggles offensively with shooting splits of 35% from the field and 30% from three-point land. SCSU committed seven turnovers in the first half and the Cougars capitalized on those opportunities, scoring 15 points off those turnovers. Sioux Falls shot 43% from the field but also struggled from beyond the arc, shooting 30% from three.
The Cougars lead by 5+ points for the first seven minutes of the second half, but after a 7-0 run, its lead was pushed to 12 points with 11:54 left in the game. The teams continued to battle, and the Cougars found themselves holding a 65-54 lead with 6:28 remaining.
Allen looked to start a late push for the Huskies as he drove baseline for the layup that rimed out, but followed his miss with an offensive rebound and kicked it out to an open Willert in the corner who drained a three, bringing the Huskies within eight points. Freshman Lucas Morgan (Sydney, Australia) found Willert open on the right wing where he drained another three, bringing the Huskies within five points. The SCSU defense continued to shine as they forced three more misses which led to free throws by Allen and Morgan. They each knocked down both of their attempts and the Huskies cut its deficit to one with 2:43 left. St. Cloud State forced Sioux Falls into a turnover and the game's momentum began to heavily favor SCSU. On their ensuing offensive possession, the Huskies had multiple opportunities to score after grabbing two offensive rebounds. Once the offense reset, Morgan got the ball on the left elbow where he drove baseline, spun off his defender and finished the layup to give the Huskies a 66-65 lead with just under 90 seconds remaining.
Sioux Falls' Jack Thompon halted the Huskies momentum after he drilled a three-pointer on the ensuing USF possession to give the Coo a 68-66 lead. In dire need of a score, the Huskies leaned on Ramlall who drove by his defender into the paint and avoided another defender with an up-and-under scoop shot layup that dropped in to tie the game at 68 with 40 seconds remaining. On the next USF possession, Ramlall played sensational defense and forced Thompson into a tough two-point shot that clanged off the rim with 15 seconds left. Allen came away with the rebound and pushed the ball up to freshman Nate Dahl (Buffalo, Minn.) and the Huskies had a 5-on-4 advantage after a Cougar was injured fighting for the rebound. Dahl drove down the lane, kicked it out to Mutimer on the wing who swung it over to Morgan in the corner. Morgan drove into the paint and dump it down to Dahl who finished the tear drop layup, giving the Huskies a 70-68 lead with three seconds remaining.
An injury timeout was called, giving USF an opportunity to draw up a play to win the game. Needing to go the full length of the court, Sioux Falls inbounded the ball to Kyle Ingwerson who caught the ball across halfcourt. Ingwerson dumped it back to Thompson who sprinted up the floor and shot a three-pointer near the top of the key. The potential game-winner missed, hitting the front of the rim as time expired.
St. Cloud State completed another improbable comeback, using a 16-3 run in the final 5:42 of the game to beat Sioux Falls 70-68. The win clinched the Huskies a spot in the NSIC Tournament. SCSU currently sits in 10th place in the standings and is up three games on 13th seeded Concordia-St. Paul with two games remaining.
Willert again led the Huskies with a game-high 17 points on 6-of-13 shooting in 24 minutes off the bench. Willert also grabbed five rebounds and cashed in four three-pointers. The senior has now scored 12+ points in four of his past six games and grabbed 3+ rebounds in six consecutive games. Morgan stuffed the stat sheet for the Huskies as he scored 11 points, dished out four assists, grabbed three rebounds, blocked two shots and nabbed a steal.
Hawks had another solid outing for SCSU in his sixth consecutive start. The freshman tallied 10 points and six rebounds in 23 minutes of action. Hawks has scored 10+ points in five of his past seven games and has grabbed 5+ rebounds in six consecutive games. Taylor was the final Husky to score in double digits as he recorded 11 points on a perfect 3-of-3 shooting. The graduate student also set a season high at the free throw line by making five of his six attempts.
Highlights from both games can be found on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
St. Cloud State Team Stats (NSIC Rank)
Wednesday's game against Minnesota Duluth will be the 101st all-time meeting between the Huskies and Bulldogs. St. Cloud State leads the series 60-40. Despite the success in the series, SCSU has lost four consecutive games to UMD including their meeting earlier in the season.
Despite trailing 4-0 for the first four minutes of the game earlier this season, St. Cloud State started to find its offensive footing, scoring on seven of its next nine possessions to force a timeout by (RV) Minnesota Duluth. Lucas Morgan knocked down three pointers on back-to-back possessions, off Luke Taylor assists. Jamiir Allen capped off a 17-4 run with back-to-back three-pointers of his own, of assists from Nate Dahl to give St. Cloud State a nine-point lead. The Huskies held the lead for the next seven minutes, but the Bulldogs finished the half strong with a 12-3 to take a 30-27 lead going into the break.
Despite a rough finish to the half, St. Cloud kept one of the best offenses in the NSIC in check, forcing the Bulldogs to shoot 34% from the field and 30% from beyond the arc. The Huskies shot 37% from the field and 41% from three-point range.
The start of the second half was tight and there were eight lead changes in the first three minutes. UMD started to take control, using an 8-2 run to force a timeout by St. Cloud State. Minnesota Duluth continued to build its lead coming out of the timeout, using a 6-2 run to give them a nine-point lead. SCSU started to chip away with a 5-0 run after freshman Vance Peiffer (Waukee, Iowa) converted on an and-one, but the Bulldogs responded, nailing back-to-back triples, pushing its lead right back up to 10-points. UMD had a stronghold on the lead but could not put the Huskies away. With 3:05 left, the Huskies went on a 8-2 run starting with Anish Ramlall finishing a layup. Allen knocked down two consecutive jump shots and the Huskies, who used some defensive pressure, forced a Bulldogs turnover in the backcourt leading to a Morgan layup. St. Cloud State trailed 70-66 with 1:30 left in the game but were unable to maintain their momentum and UMD closed out the game on a 5-0 run to win 75-66.
Minnesota Duluth found its offensive groove in the second half, shooting 60% from the field. 26 of its 45 second half points were scored in the paint. The Bulldogs stayed aggressive and got to the free throw line 16 times in the second half, but only converted on eight of those attempts.
Allen led the Huskies in scoring with 15 points while tallying three rebounds and two three-pointers. Ramlall was the only other Husky to score double digits as he recorded 11 points, four assists and one made three-pointer. Matt Willert nearly recorded a double-double with seven points and 10 rebounds. Willert also recorded a season-high two steals and also made all four of his free throws.
SCOUTING MINNESOTA DULUTH
No. 12 Minnesota Duluth comes into this matchup posting a 22-5 overall record and 17-4 conference record to place them second in the NSIC standings. UMD is the hottest team in the conference, having won 10 straight games. During its winning streak, the Bulldogs have won by an average of 11.4 points with notable wins over No. 2 Minnesota State, Southwest Minnesota State and No. 23 Minot State.
Fifth year guard Drew Blair comes into this game as the leading scorer in the NSIC at 21.8 points per game on 47% shooting from the field and 35% from beyond the arc. Blair also leads the team in rebounding and steals with 5.3 rebounds per game and 1.4 steals per game. The guard is also second on the team in assists with 2.1 per game. Blair has scored 24+ points in six consecutive games and was named to the NSIC Shining 5 last week after he averaged 24.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists in Duluth's two wins.
Senior forward Charlie Katona is the only other Bulldog to score in double figures as he averages 13 points per game on 54% shooting from the field and 33% from three-point land. Katona also averages 4.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Katona has scored 13+ points in eight of his past 11 games including an 18-point performance against Minot State.
Senior forward Austin Andrews is the fourth leading scorer on the Bulldogs with an average of 9.4 points per game on 58% from the field and 33% from three. Andrews also averages 4.5 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.
In the meeting against St. Cloud State earlier in the season, Blair played all 40 minutes, scoring a game-high 27 points on 9-of-19 shooting while making eight of his 10 free throw attempts. Blair also grabbed seven rebounds, dished out two assists, recorded a block and made a three-pointer. Andrews was second on the team in scoring with 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Andrews also grabbed seven rebounds in the game. Katona was held to seven points on 3-of-8 shooting while registering seven rebounds and two steals. Katona also committed four fouls and was forced into four turnovers.
Head coach Justin Wieck is in his sixth season with the Bulldogs. Wieck has posted a record of 118-47 while exceeding 17 wins in four of his five seasons. The Bulldogs have reached the NCAA Tournament in two consecutive seasons including an Elite Eight appearance last year after posting a 26-10 record. Prior to his time at Duluth, Wieck was an assistant coach at MSU Moorhead for four seasons, the head coach at the University of Jamestown for two seasons and a two-year stint with Northern State.
Minnesota Duluth Team Stats (NSIC Rank)
St. Cloud State senior Matt Willert (Buffalo, Minn.) became the 46th member of the St. Cloud State Men's Basketball 1,000-point club in the 68-61 win at UMary on December 12. Willert scored a game-high 16 points, including six points after he reached 1,000. He ended the night with 1,006 career points, moving him up to No. 45 on the all-time scoring list.
Willert current sits at No. 31 with 1,178 points. He passed Dean Kesler (1990-92 – 1,149 points) and Brindley Theisen (2015-19 – 1158 points) last week. He has played in 100 games (2,639 minutes) over the past four seasons for the Huskies. He averages 11.8 points per game for his career on 390-of-926 (42.1%) shooting from the field, 194-562 (34.5%) from three and 204-237 (86.1%) from the free throw line.
WILLERT WATCH
In addition to working his way up the all-time scoring list, senior Matt Willert is third on the career free throw percentage list (86.1%), 9th on the career three-point makes list (194) passing Nate Miller (2001-05 – 188) and Taylor Witt (2007-11 – 189) and 19th on the career blocks list (52). He made eight three pointers at Minnesota Crookston earlier this season, missing out on the single game record by one.
SHINING STAR
St. Cloud State freshman Lucas Morgan (Sydney, Australia) was named to the NSIC Men's Basketball Shining 5 by the league office on Nov. 11 for his efforts in his first two collegiate games. He averaged 17.5 points and 8.5 rebounds in just 24.5 minutes per game during the 2-0 weekend for the Huskies in Kansas City. He shot 68.4% (13-of-19) from the field and 57.1% (4-of-7) from behind the three-point line over the weekend. In his collegiate debut on Friday, he erupted for 25 points and grabbed six rebounds in an 80-73 win over Pittsburg State. In just his second collegiate game ever, he recorded his first career double-double (10 points and 11 rebounds) in a 74-64 win over Henderson State.
For all the latest on St. Cloud State Men's Basketball, stay tuned to SCSUHuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
FOLLOW THE HUSKIES
The game will be streamed live for free on the NSIC Network and broadcasted on The Varsity Network. Steve Linzmeier, the Voice of St. Cloud State Basketball, can be heard on the audio broadcast. Live stats will be provided by UMD. Links to each coverage option can be found on the St. Cloud State Men's Basketball schedule page.
LAST TIME OUT
Last weekend, St. Cloud State played two games at Halenbeck Hall. The Huskies welcomed Southwest Minnesota State on Friday and Sioux Falls on Saturday.
SMSU burst out of the gates on Friday with a 9-0 in the first two minutes and 14 seconds of the game. The Huskies finally put their first points on the board after senior Matt Willert (Buffalo, Minn.) netted a three-pointer at the 15:39 mark. Despite the slow start, SCSU battled back with a 7-0 run as graduate student Luke Taylor (Germantown, Wis.) finished a layup in the paint and then drained a corner three-pointer off a Willert assist. Freshman Anish Ramlall (Rosemount, Minn.) tied the game at 11 with a three-pointer of his own off another assist by Willert. The Mustangs responded to the Huskies run by knocking down three three-pointers in the midst of an 11-3 run to take a 22-14 lead with 5:46 left in the first half. SMSU held a lead as big as 10 points in the final minutes of the half but went into the break with a 30-22 lead after Jake Phipps finished a layup with 23 seconds remaining.
The Huskies struggled in the first half, shooting a mere 27% from the field and committing six turnovers. SCSU was able to keep themselves within striking distance by knocking down five of their 12 three-point attempts – a 41% clip. SMSU shot 48% from the field and 40% from beyond the arc.
Both teams struggled to begin the second half, as Willert made the first field goal of the half with a three-pointer off of a ghost screen action. The Mustangs responded with a three-pointer of their own and then capped off a 6-2 run with a thunderous dunk to take a 41-27 lead with 13:07 remaining in the game. SMSU held a lead as big as 16 points in the second half and led by 8+ points for final stretch of the game. The Huskies went on to lose, 65-52.
Five players scored eight or more points for the Mustangs, but Cliff Cofield led the way with 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting while grabbing seven rebounds and recording two steals. Mason Lund and Jake Phipps each scored 12 points for SMSU.
The first half offensive struggles continued for the Huskies in the second half as they shot 29% from the field and 28% for the game. The three-pointers that had helped SCSU in the first half did not drop in the second half as they shot 21% from beyond the arc on their 19 attempts.
Matt Willert led the Huskies with 16 points on 5-of-11 shooting in 25 minutes off the bench. Willert also made three three-pointers, grabbed three rebounds and dished out two assists. The senior has now grabbed 3+ rebounds in five consecutive games. Luke Taylor was the Huskies second leading scorer with eight points on 3-of-5 shooting. Taylor connected on two of his three three-point attempts, grabbed three rebounds and recorded a steal. Freshman Wyatt Hawks (White Bear Lake, Minn.) nearly recorded a double-double as he scored six points and totaled a game-high nine rebounds. Hawks also tied his career-high with blocks as she swatted three shots in the game.
Saturday's game against Sioux Falls served as Senior Day for the Huskies where they honored Willert, Taylor, Joe Mutimer (Melbourne, Australia) and Craig Steele (Portage, Wis.) before the game. St. Cloud State carried that pregame momentum into the first few minutes of the game opening with a 7-3 run that saw freshman Jamiir Allen (Milwaukee, Wis.) cash a three. The Cougars started to find their offensive footing with a 9-0 run, taking a 12-7 lead after Kyle Ingwerson cashed two three-pointers. The teams battled back-and-forth for the next seven minutes but neither team was able to take control. With 6:54 remaining in the half, USF embarked on a 7-0 run to give them a 29-18 lead. The Cougars stretched that lead to 15 points with 3:12 left in the half. The Huskies were able to recapture some momentum, closing the half on a 9-2 as Willert nailed a three-pointer from the top of the key off an assist by Allen. A strong final stretch in the half resulted in the Huskies only trailing by eight going into the break.
St. Cloud State had struggles offensively with shooting splits of 35% from the field and 30% from three-point land. SCSU committed seven turnovers in the first half and the Cougars capitalized on those opportunities, scoring 15 points off those turnovers. Sioux Falls shot 43% from the field but also struggled from beyond the arc, shooting 30% from three.
The Cougars lead by 5+ points for the first seven minutes of the second half, but after a 7-0 run, its lead was pushed to 12 points with 11:54 left in the game. The teams continued to battle, and the Cougars found themselves holding a 65-54 lead with 6:28 remaining.
Allen looked to start a late push for the Huskies as he drove baseline for the layup that rimed out, but followed his miss with an offensive rebound and kicked it out to an open Willert in the corner who drained a three, bringing the Huskies within eight points. Freshman Lucas Morgan (Sydney, Australia) found Willert open on the right wing where he drained another three, bringing the Huskies within five points. The SCSU defense continued to shine as they forced three more misses which led to free throws by Allen and Morgan. They each knocked down both of their attempts and the Huskies cut its deficit to one with 2:43 left. St. Cloud State forced Sioux Falls into a turnover and the game's momentum began to heavily favor SCSU. On their ensuing offensive possession, the Huskies had multiple opportunities to score after grabbing two offensive rebounds. Once the offense reset, Morgan got the ball on the left elbow where he drove baseline, spun off his defender and finished the layup to give the Huskies a 66-65 lead with just under 90 seconds remaining.
Sioux Falls' Jack Thompon halted the Huskies momentum after he drilled a three-pointer on the ensuing USF possession to give the Coo a 68-66 lead. In dire need of a score, the Huskies leaned on Ramlall who drove by his defender into the paint and avoided another defender with an up-and-under scoop shot layup that dropped in to tie the game at 68 with 40 seconds remaining. On the next USF possession, Ramlall played sensational defense and forced Thompson into a tough two-point shot that clanged off the rim with 15 seconds left. Allen came away with the rebound and pushed the ball up to freshman Nate Dahl (Buffalo, Minn.) and the Huskies had a 5-on-4 advantage after a Cougar was injured fighting for the rebound. Dahl drove down the lane, kicked it out to Mutimer on the wing who swung it over to Morgan in the corner. Morgan drove into the paint and dump it down to Dahl who finished the tear drop layup, giving the Huskies a 70-68 lead with three seconds remaining.
An injury timeout was called, giving USF an opportunity to draw up a play to win the game. Needing to go the full length of the court, Sioux Falls inbounded the ball to Kyle Ingwerson who caught the ball across halfcourt. Ingwerson dumped it back to Thompson who sprinted up the floor and shot a three-pointer near the top of the key. The potential game-winner missed, hitting the front of the rim as time expired.
St. Cloud State completed another improbable comeback, using a 16-3 run in the final 5:42 of the game to beat Sioux Falls 70-68. The win clinched the Huskies a spot in the NSIC Tournament. SCSU currently sits in 10th place in the standings and is up three games on 13th seeded Concordia-St. Paul with two games remaining.
Willert again led the Huskies with a game-high 17 points on 6-of-13 shooting in 24 minutes off the bench. Willert also grabbed five rebounds and cashed in four three-pointers. The senior has now scored 12+ points in four of his past six games and grabbed 3+ rebounds in six consecutive games. Morgan stuffed the stat sheet for the Huskies as he scored 11 points, dished out four assists, grabbed three rebounds, blocked two shots and nabbed a steal.
Hawks had another solid outing for SCSU in his sixth consecutive start. The freshman tallied 10 points and six rebounds in 23 minutes of action. Hawks has scored 10+ points in five of his past seven games and has grabbed 5+ rebounds in six consecutive games. Taylor was the final Husky to score in double digits as he recorded 11 points on a perfect 3-of-3 shooting. The graduate student also set a season high at the free throw line by making five of his six attempts.
Highlights from both games can be found on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
St. Cloud State Team Stats (NSIC Rank)
- 73.8 points per game (9th) | 74 points per game allowed (10th) | -0.2 scoring margin (11th)
- 42.8 field goal percentage (14th) | 34.1 three-point percentage (9th) | 73.9 free throw percentage (8th)
- 45.9 opponent field goal percentage (12th) | 36.5 opponent three-point percentage (14th)
- 36.8 rebounds per game (7th) | 10.4 offensive rebounds per game (5th)
- 35.7 opponent rebounds per game (11th) | 1.2 rebounding margin (9th)
- 10.8 turnovers per game (6th) | 0.31 turnover margin (7th)
- 2 blocks per game (12th)
- 5.38 steals per game (9th)
- 13.23 assists per game (7th)
Wednesday's game against Minnesota Duluth will be the 101st all-time meeting between the Huskies and Bulldogs. St. Cloud State leads the series 60-40. Despite the success in the series, SCSU has lost four consecutive games to UMD including their meeting earlier in the season.
Despite trailing 4-0 for the first four minutes of the game earlier this season, St. Cloud State started to find its offensive footing, scoring on seven of its next nine possessions to force a timeout by (RV) Minnesota Duluth. Lucas Morgan knocked down three pointers on back-to-back possessions, off Luke Taylor assists. Jamiir Allen capped off a 17-4 run with back-to-back three-pointers of his own, of assists from Nate Dahl to give St. Cloud State a nine-point lead. The Huskies held the lead for the next seven minutes, but the Bulldogs finished the half strong with a 12-3 to take a 30-27 lead going into the break.
Despite a rough finish to the half, St. Cloud kept one of the best offenses in the NSIC in check, forcing the Bulldogs to shoot 34% from the field and 30% from beyond the arc. The Huskies shot 37% from the field and 41% from three-point range.
The start of the second half was tight and there were eight lead changes in the first three minutes. UMD started to take control, using an 8-2 run to force a timeout by St. Cloud State. Minnesota Duluth continued to build its lead coming out of the timeout, using a 6-2 run to give them a nine-point lead. SCSU started to chip away with a 5-0 run after freshman Vance Peiffer (Waukee, Iowa) converted on an and-one, but the Bulldogs responded, nailing back-to-back triples, pushing its lead right back up to 10-points. UMD had a stronghold on the lead but could not put the Huskies away. With 3:05 left, the Huskies went on a 8-2 run starting with Anish Ramlall finishing a layup. Allen knocked down two consecutive jump shots and the Huskies, who used some defensive pressure, forced a Bulldogs turnover in the backcourt leading to a Morgan layup. St. Cloud State trailed 70-66 with 1:30 left in the game but were unable to maintain their momentum and UMD closed out the game on a 5-0 run to win 75-66.
Minnesota Duluth found its offensive groove in the second half, shooting 60% from the field. 26 of its 45 second half points were scored in the paint. The Bulldogs stayed aggressive and got to the free throw line 16 times in the second half, but only converted on eight of those attempts.
Allen led the Huskies in scoring with 15 points while tallying three rebounds and two three-pointers. Ramlall was the only other Husky to score double digits as he recorded 11 points, four assists and one made three-pointer. Matt Willert nearly recorded a double-double with seven points and 10 rebounds. Willert also recorded a season-high two steals and also made all four of his free throws.
SCOUTING MINNESOTA DULUTH
No. 12 Minnesota Duluth comes into this matchup posting a 22-5 overall record and 17-4 conference record to place them second in the NSIC standings. UMD is the hottest team in the conference, having won 10 straight games. During its winning streak, the Bulldogs have won by an average of 11.4 points with notable wins over No. 2 Minnesota State, Southwest Minnesota State and No. 23 Minot State.
Fifth year guard Drew Blair comes into this game as the leading scorer in the NSIC at 21.8 points per game on 47% shooting from the field and 35% from beyond the arc. Blair also leads the team in rebounding and steals with 5.3 rebounds per game and 1.4 steals per game. The guard is also second on the team in assists with 2.1 per game. Blair has scored 24+ points in six consecutive games and was named to the NSIC Shining 5 last week after he averaged 24.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists in Duluth's two wins.
Senior forward Charlie Katona is the only other Bulldog to score in double figures as he averages 13 points per game on 54% shooting from the field and 33% from three-point land. Katona also averages 4.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Katona has scored 13+ points in eight of his past 11 games including an 18-point performance against Minot State.
Senior forward Austin Andrews is the fourth leading scorer on the Bulldogs with an average of 9.4 points per game on 58% from the field and 33% from three. Andrews also averages 4.5 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.
In the meeting against St. Cloud State earlier in the season, Blair played all 40 minutes, scoring a game-high 27 points on 9-of-19 shooting while making eight of his 10 free throw attempts. Blair also grabbed seven rebounds, dished out two assists, recorded a block and made a three-pointer. Andrews was second on the team in scoring with 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Andrews also grabbed seven rebounds in the game. Katona was held to seven points on 3-of-8 shooting while registering seven rebounds and two steals. Katona also committed four fouls and was forced into four turnovers.
Head coach Justin Wieck is in his sixth season with the Bulldogs. Wieck has posted a record of 118-47 while exceeding 17 wins in four of his five seasons. The Bulldogs have reached the NCAA Tournament in two consecutive seasons including an Elite Eight appearance last year after posting a 26-10 record. Prior to his time at Duluth, Wieck was an assistant coach at MSU Moorhead for four seasons, the head coach at the University of Jamestown for two seasons and a two-year stint with Northern State.
Minnesota Duluth Team Stats (NSIC Rank)
- 80.8 points per game (2nd) | 69.4 points per game allowed (4th) | 11.4 scoring margin (2nd)
- 48.5 field goal percentage (2nd) | 33.9 three-point percentage (10th) | 68.4 free throw percentage (13th)
- 42.4 opponent field goal percentage (4th) | 29.6 opponent three-point percentage (1st)
- 37 rebounds per game (6th) | 10 offensive rebounds per game (6th)
- 33.5 opponent rebounds per game (7th) | 3.5 rebounding margin (5th)
- 8.4 turnovers per game (1st) | 2.44 turnover margin (3rd)
- 3.67 blocks per game (3rd)
- 6.3 steals per game (4th)
- 11.63 assists per game (12th)
St. Cloud State senior Matt Willert (Buffalo, Minn.) became the 46th member of the St. Cloud State Men's Basketball 1,000-point club in the 68-61 win at UMary on December 12. Willert scored a game-high 16 points, including six points after he reached 1,000. He ended the night with 1,006 career points, moving him up to No. 45 on the all-time scoring list.
Willert current sits at No. 31 with 1,178 points. He passed Dean Kesler (1990-92 – 1,149 points) and Brindley Theisen (2015-19 – 1158 points) last week. He has played in 100 games (2,639 minutes) over the past four seasons for the Huskies. He averages 11.8 points per game for his career on 390-of-926 (42.1%) shooting from the field, 194-562 (34.5%) from three and 204-237 (86.1%) from the free throw line.
WILLERT WATCH
In addition to working his way up the all-time scoring list, senior Matt Willert is third on the career free throw percentage list (86.1%), 9th on the career three-point makes list (194) passing Nate Miller (2001-05 – 188) and Taylor Witt (2007-11 – 189) and 19th on the career blocks list (52). He made eight three pointers at Minnesota Crookston earlier this season, missing out on the single game record by one.
SHINING STAR
St. Cloud State freshman Lucas Morgan (Sydney, Australia) was named to the NSIC Men's Basketball Shining 5 by the league office on Nov. 11 for his efforts in his first two collegiate games. He averaged 17.5 points and 8.5 rebounds in just 24.5 minutes per game during the 2-0 weekend for the Huskies in Kansas City. He shot 68.4% (13-of-19) from the field and 57.1% (4-of-7) from behind the three-point line over the weekend. In his collegiate debut on Friday, he erupted for 25 points and grabbed six rebounds in an 80-73 win over Pittsburg State. In just his second collegiate game ever, he recorded his first career double-double (10 points and 11 rebounds) in a 74-64 win over Henderson State.
For all the latest on St. Cloud State Men's Basketball, stay tuned to SCSUHuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
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/ Men's Basketball94 Feet | SCSU Men's Basketball | Will Brands
Wednesday, October 29
94 Feet | SCSU Men's Basketball | Tre Blissett
Thursday, October 23
94 Feet | SCSU Men's Basketball | Landon Riebel
Tuesday, October 21
94 Feet | SCSU Men's Basketball | Nathan Bunkosky
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