DULUTH, Minn. – The Minnesota State University Moorhead men's basketball team led 36-34 at halftime, but No. 7 Minnesota Duluth came back in the second half to defeat the Dragons, 80-70 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference action Friday night in Duluth.
 
MSUM fell to 11-11 overall and 6-7 in the NSIC with the loss while UMD improved to 20-2 overall and 13-2 in the league.
 
Junior guard Lorenzo McGhee had 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists to pace MSUM, while junior guard Gavin Baumgartner and sophomore forward Dane Zimmer had 12 points each.
 
MSUM shot 41.5 percent (27-of-65) for the game compared to 46.7 percent (28-of-60) for the Bulldogs.  The Dragons had a 32-30 edge on the glass.
 
The Dragons jumped out to a 7-2 lead with junior center Jesse Bergh accounting for five of those points.  UMD came back to lead by as many as seven points but the Dragons fought back to take a 24-22 lead after a three-pointer by freshman guard Jacob Beeninga.
 
A three-pointer by junior Jaden Stanley-Williams put MSUM up 36-34 at halftime. Zimmer led the Dragons with 10 first-half points.
 
MSUM pushed the lead to 43-38 3:19 into the second half on a McGhee basket, but the Bulldogs then went on an 18-3 run over the next 6:41 to build a 56-46 lead with 10 minutes left.
 
UMD would lead by as many as 15 in second half on its way to the win.  
 
Bergh finished with nine points for MSUM.
 
The Dragons play at St. Cloud State for a 5:30 p.m. contest on Saturday.