#14 Bulldogs overpower Huskies 99-65

DULUTH, Minn. – Drew Blair tallied 22 points to lead No. 14 ranked Minnesota Duluth over Michigan Tech 99-65 Saturday afternoon at Romano Gymnasium in non-conference men's basketball. The Bulldogs shot an impressive 58-percent from the field to improve to 5-1 on the year. The Huskies fell to 2-4 in the midst of seven straight games away from the Keweenaw. 

"Duluth is a really good basketball team and they kicked our tails in every phase of the game today," said head coach Josh Buettner. "I need to raise the accountability level in practice on the defensive side of the ball. We'll continue to work hard every day to get better."

The Bulldogs maintained a short lead through most of the first half, then extended it to 16 just prior to halftime. Blair found space in the lane for 14 first half points and the Bulldogs shot 53-percent from the field.

Meanwhile, Tyler Robarge led the Huskies with six points in the paint, after Simonsen opened up the scoring with a deep three in the opening minutes. Tech shot 35-percent in the first half and UMD found 24 rebounds compared to the Huskies' 12.

Strong rebounding continued to propel the Bulldogs forward in the second half as UMD neared the century mark for a 99-65 final score. Five players made it to double-figures as UMD used 50 points in the paint to their advantage. The Bulldogs earned a 39-23 rebound advantage.

Eric Carl led the Huskies with 11 points on 4 of 10 shooting. Pete Calcaterra pulled down seven rebounds and MTU found marginal success from deep with seven makes on 22 attempts (31.8-percent).

Michigan Tech concludes its stretch of five games in nine days on Sunday at Saint Cloud State at 2 p.m. Fans can hear the game on Mix 93.5 FM WKMJ.