WINONA — A second-half rally proved to be too little too late for the Minnesota Duluth men’s basketball team in an 86-78 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference loss to Winona State on Wednesday evening.
UMD struggled to find its offensive rhythm over the course of the first half but still managed to build a 20-13 lead in the early going before shooting woes caught up to them. The Bulldogs shot 41% (12-of-29) from the field and trailed the Warriors 40-33 at halftime.
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Connor Drew emerged as the go-to scorer for WSU with 17 points in the first half alone and 27 points overall for the game on 11-of-15 shooting.
The Bulldogs found themselves trailing 58-42 less than five minutes into the second half following an 18-9 run for the Warriors out of the break. Jayden Johnson and Charlie Katona helped lead UMD whittle the deficit down to five at 72-67, but the Bulldogs failed to gain any more ground over the final four minutes.
Johnson led the Bulldogs with 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Joining him in double figures were Austin Andrews (14), Charlie Katona (12) and Nick Katona (11).
The Bulldogs (13-7, 8-6 NSIC) will look to bounce back when they return home to face Concordia-St. Paul on Saturday, Feb. 1 at Romano Gym.
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