The Minot State Beavers men’s basketball team was back on the road in Minnesota on Thursday night, Dec. 18 as they took on the University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs. The Beavers dropped the game in a tough loss 67-58, never taking the lead for themselves through the entirety of either half. The teams only tied four times throughout the entire game, and the first three were before either team reached double-digit points.

Redshirt freshman Carson Yale was the first Beavers to put points on the board. The Bulldogs led the Beavers 4-0 when Yale was fouled by redshirt junior Nick Katona and scored on one of his two free throws. The Beavers were able to work off of Yale’s score and kept the game neck and neck through a score of 8-8 when the Bulldogs took a definitive lead. The Bulldogs kept their lead until a layup by Minot State redshirt junior Isaiah Alexander tied the two teams at 23-23. The Bulldogs then went on an eight point run to finish the first half of the game with a lead of 31-23.

The second half of the game was just as dominant for the Bulldogs. Duluth hovered around a two-digit lead for the remainder of the game. Minot State redshirt junior Deuce Benjamin closed out the game, scoring two free-throws to end the game with a score of 67-58 for the Bulldogs.

Looking at the stats initially, both teams seemed fairly evenly matched. The Minot State Beavers and the Bulldogs both ended the game with exactly 40 rebounds. The Beavers had more total field goals with 23 out of 61 made for a 37.7 field goal percentage. The Bulldogs had fewer scored field goals, making just 20 out of 55 for a 36.4 field goal percentage. The stat that really put the Bulldogs over the top were their three-pointers. The Bulldogs scored seven out of their 25 three-point attempts, far outpacing the Beavers who made just three successful three-point shots out of their 17 attempts.

Deuce Benjamin was once again the top scorer for the Beavers, earning 18 points total. Benjamin also scored two out of the Beavers’ three successful three-point shots. Redshirt junior Caleb Siwek was the top scorer for the Bulldogs, securing 13 points individually to help earn Duluth the win.

Thursday night’s loss put Minot State back on an even record for the season at 6-6 and tied their conference record for the season at 3-3. The Beavers are at risk of having a losing record for the first time this season since late November as they head into their road game against Bemidji State University this Saturday, Dec. 20.