MOORHEAD, Minn. – Fans braved the cold weather to watch the Minnesota State University Moorhead Dragons take on the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs in a matchup of two foes tied in the NSIC standings. The Dragons would come up clutch in a tight game and came away with an 82-75 win.

The Bulldogs got out to a quick 18-9 lead as Ryan Rasmussen hit three jumpers. The Dragons would not let the first half slip away as sophomore Andrew VanHavermaet hit two big three-point shots to pull the Dragons back with in four and would give way to freshman Alex Novak who drove to the basket for a dunk. Senior Andy Thompson would rattle a three-pointer of his own and cut the lead down to one. The Dragons would find themselves down by four as the first half came to an end with the Bulldogs leading 37-33.

Both squads posted 10 points inside the paint and also got six points off second chance opportunities. Both benches played a key role in the first half, posting 10 points in the half. Rasmussen tallied 12 points in the first half to lead the Bulldogs and Novak posted eight points to lead the Dragons.

The Dragons game out strong in the first half as sophomore Dennis Williamson got an old-fashioned three-point play with a layup and free throw shot. Senior Jerome Nelson would drive down the next possession and pull up for a three-point jumper. The Dragons would later tie the game on another three-point jump shot by sophomore Brent Egan.

The Dragons would get the team's first lead of the game off a long-range three-point shot by sophomore Jake Driscoll. Driscoll would give the Dragons the lead on another three-point jumper on the next possession. Williamson and Novak began to clean up the glass on the offensive end, pushing the Dragon lead up to five with 7:20 to play.

With only two minutes remaining in the second half, poor free throw shooting played a role in the game as a missed free throw by Ivan Franklin kept the lead on the Dragons side 71-70. VanHavermaet would apply more pressure as the sophomore hit a long range three-pointer to give the Dragons a four-point lead with 1:32 remaining.

The Bulldogs would not lie down as Jake Hottenstine's layup would make it a three-point lead for the Dragons with a minute to go. Novak would regain momentum as he drove to the basket for another dunk that gave the Dragons a lead of five with 26 seconds remaining. The Dragons would not give in and sealed the win with a pair of free throws by sophomore Xavier Reed, beating the Bulldogs 82-75.

Senior Andy Thompson led the seniors with six points on the night. Jerome Nelson would tally five points on the night and Dwayne Hardy tallied two points and four rebounds in the game. Driscoll led the Dragons with 14 points, most of those coming in the second half. Novak posted a double-double on the night with 11 points and 13 rebounds, also coming up with a block shot late in the game.

The win improves the Dragons record to 8-16 on the season (5-12 NSIC). The loss drops the Bulldogs to 7-17 on the season with an NSIC mark of 4-13. The Dragons will head on the road to Concordia St. Paul Golden Bears on February 20 at 6 p.m.