St. Cloud State Men’s Basketball Runs Out of Steam Late, Drops to No. 12 Minnesota Duluth on the Road

Wednesday, February 21

Duluth, Minn.

7:30 P.M. CT

St. Cloud State

12-15,8-13NSIC

Minnesota Duluth

23-5,18-4NSIC

St. Cloud St.

Minn. Duluth

Photo by: Jacob Sanders

St. Cloud State Men’s Basketball Runs Out of Steam Late, Drops to No. 12 Minnesota Duluth on the Road

2/22/2024 1:13:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Nate Dahl scores career-high 17, Huskies fall to UMD, 80-69

DULUTH, Minn. – St. Cloud State Men's Basketball (12-15 overall, 8-13 NSIC) gave No. 12 Minnesota Duluth a real scare in its final regular season game at Romano Gymnasium Wednesday night, before falling 80-69.

The Huskies outplayed UMD early in the first half, taking a four-point lead on two occasions in the first six and a half minutes. Freshmen Jamiir Allen (Milwaukee) and Nate Dahl (Buffalo, Minn.) combined to make three three-pointers during that stretch, helping the Huskies to an early 11-7 lead.

Minnesota Duluth (23-5, 18-4 NSIC) outscored the Huskies 33-22 in the rest of the half, taking a 40-33 lead into the halftime break. Dahl had a strong first half after making his third start of season. He scored eight first half points while Allen contributed seven. Graduate student Luke Taylor (Germantown, Wis.) scored eight first half points in just nine minutes off the bench, making three of his four shots and draining both of his three-point attempts.

The Huskies made seven first half threes, compared to UMD's four. The Bulldogs shot 12 more first half free throws than the Huskies who didn't make It to the line once. Minnesota Duluth also nearly put three players in double figures in the first half – Drew Blair (11), Austin Andrews (nine) and Charlie Katona (eight).

The Huskies erased its seven-point halftime deficit just 90 seconds into the second half. Freshman Wyatt Hawks (White Bear Lake, Minn.) opened the half by making a layup and a three pointer on back-to-back Husky possessions before Dahl tied the game after he recorded a steal and went coast-to-coast, finishing the layup. The Bulldogs got two offensive rebounds on their next possession before finally making their third shot to take the lead back. Allen responded with a three pointer, giving the Huskies what would turn out to be their last lead of the game with 17:44 left.

UMD went on a 14-4 run to take a 56-47 lead with just over 12 minutes left in the half before the Huskies started to march their way back into the game again. SCSU put together a quick 6-0 run to cut its deficit to one possession with just under 10 minutes remaining in the game. The Huskies were able to keep the game within three possessions until there was 90 seconds remaining. The Bulldogs iced the game at the free throw line, making all five of its attempts down the stretch to take the game, 80-69.

Both teams finished with three players in double figures. Dahl finished with a career-high 17, Allen also scored 17 and Taylor finished with 13. Blair poured in 31 on 10-of-14 shooting from the field including 4-of-7 from three. Andrews and Katona finished with 18 and 12 respectively.

TOP HUSKIES

Dahl scored 17 on 6-of-11 from the field including 2-of-3 from three. He also contributed three rebounds, three steals and two assists.
Allen scored 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting including 3-of-8 from three.
Taylor scored 13 on an extremely efficient 5-of-6 from the field and a perfect 2-of-2 from downtown.

NOTABLES

SCSU is now 60-41 all-time against Minnesota Duluth after the loss.
SCSU led the game in three-point percentage (41.4-36.8), free throw percentage (70.0-63.0), three-pointers (12-7), steals (5-2) and bench points (19-8).
Minnesota Duluth in field goal percentage (53.8-41.0), field goals (28-25), free throws (17-7), total rebounds (12-25—37 - 11-14—25), assists (14-9), blocks (6-1), points off turnovers (18-17), points in the paint (40-20), second chance points (14-13) and fast break points (5-4).
Dahl set new career highs in points (17), minutes (33), field goals (six), field goal attempts (11), three pointers (three), three-point attempts (six – tie) and steals (three) in his third career start. He has dished out 2+ assists in eight games.
Allen took a career-high eight three pointers and tied a season high making three of them. Games with 17+ points this season: three.
Taylor has scored 13+ points in four games this season and made 2+ three pointers in five.
Hawks scored seven points and hauled in a team high seven rebounds. He tied career highs in three pointers (one), three-point attempts (one) and steals (one). Games this season with 7+ points: 13 (six of the last eight) and 7+ rebounds: 10 (five of the last seven).
Freshman Anish Ramlall (Rosemount, Minn.) scored seven points, grabbed three rebounds and dished out a team high three assists. Games this season with 7+ points: 14, 3+ rebounds: 11 and 3+ assists: 12.

UP NEXT
The Huskies travel to Concordia-St. Paul Sunday for their final regular season game of the season. The game is slated to start at 5:30 p.m. at the Gangelhoff Center in St. Paul. Live coverage will be available on the NSIC Network and The Varsity Network with live stats being provided by CSP. Links to each coverage option will be available on the SCSU Men's Basketball schedule page.

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.