DULUTH, Minn. -- The Minnesota State University Moorhead men's basketball team struggled shooting the basketball on Saturday night and as a result, the Dragons lost their first game of the season, 60-58 against Minnesota Duluth.

With the loss, MSUM is now 12-1 this season and 4-1 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play. UMD improves to 6-5 overall and 3-2 in the NSIC.

MSUM shot 40 percent (24-60) from the field, but just 13.6 percent (3-22) from the three-point line. To compare, the Bulldogs shot 42 percent (21-50) from the field and 50 percent (8-16) from beyond the three-point line. UMD also outrebounded the Dragons 40-31 in the game.

Statistically, junior forward Isaac Sevlie led the Dragons in points with 18 and rebounds with five. Junior guard Tyler Vaughan also had five rebounds and led the team with five assists. Senior guard Jordan Riewer added 16 points and four rebounds for the Dragons. For UMD, Pierre Newton led all scorers with 19 points and had 11 rebounds.

MSUM led early in the game, by as much as six points at 14-8 with 12:29 left in the first half after a Riewer lay up on a fast break. UMD proceeded by going on a 7-0 run to grab the lead at 15-14 after a jumper from Brett Ervin at the 10:13 mark. The Dragons would not regain the lead again in the game. The Bulldogs led by as much as 11 at 27-16 after a Taylor Lavery three-pointer.

Trailing 31-25 at the start of the second half, MSUM started the half on a 10-4 run the tie the score at 35 with 16 minutes, 36 seconds remaining in the half. Riewer scored four points in the run. The score was tied twice more in the half, including 40-40 at the 11:38 mark. The game remained close from that mark until the end as the Bulldogs did not lead by more than six in the final 11 minutes. Sevlie converted a three-point play to pull the Dragons within two at the 2:02 mark at 60-58. MSUM had two shots with under 20 seconds to play, but neither shot found the bottom of the net as the Dragons fell to UMD 60-58.

The Dragons will next be in action on Saturday, Dec. 20 at Nemzek Fieldhouse when Northern State visits Moorhead, Minn. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.

Steve d'Eustachio Stat of the Game: The Dragons have now dropped seven of their last nine matchups with the Bulldogs in Duluth including five straight between Feb. 19, 2004 and Dec. 4, 2010.