Thanks to a 23-0 run in the second half, the Minnesota Duluth men's team overcame a 16-point deficit and defeated Winona State 76-72 in the NSIC tournament opener on Saturday night in Sioux Falls.
The Bulldogs trailed by 16 points with 6:35 left, then embarked on their epic run to take a 76-69 lead. Trevor Entwisle hit the go-ahead 3-pointer. Winona State hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer for the final.
Winona State held high-scoring Bulldogs Brandon Myer to 13 points but Alex Illikainen led the team with 17 points and Drew Blair added 16. Logan Rohrscheid scored 14.
The Bulldogs are 22-8 and play Minnesota State-Mankato (16-14) at 2:30 p.m. Monday in the tournament semifinals.
- Bethany Lutheran overcame a six-point halftime deficit and defeated St. Scholastica 92-82 in the UMAC men's basketball tournament championship game on Saturday in Mankato.
With the victory, Bethany Lutheran (21-6) secured the UMAC's automatic berth in the NCAA Division III tourmanent. CSS finished 15-13.
The Saints scored 49 first-half points and led by six at the break, but Bethany held them to 33 second-half points and pulled ahead, then away.
ADVERTISEMENT
CSS' Jack Silgen recorded a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Jarod Wilken also had a double-double with 13 points and 10 boards, Collin Anderson scored 16 points, and Quinn Fischer finished with eight points and seven rebounds.
Bethany's Trenton Krueger had 29 points and 13 rebounds, Jared Milinkovich scored 25 points and Cire Mayfield had 16 points and 11 assists.
- The Bethany Lutheran women's team pulled out front in the fourth quarter and defeated Wisconsin-Superior 64-58 in the UMAC championship game Saturday in Mankato.
The Yellowjackets finished the season 18-9 overall. Bethany Lutheran (23-3) wrapped up the conference's automatic berth in the NCAA Division III tournament.
Mackenzie Kmecik led UWS with 14 points and Emily Carpenter scored 11. Marissa Ruiz and Eva Reinertsen both scored nine points.
