MOORHEAD, Minn. -- A valiant comeback highlighted Minnesota State Moorhead's efforts in a Saturday night contest against Minnesota Duluth. The Dragons would trail by as many as 15 points, but would force overtime, ultimately falling short, 73-69.
Moorhead would begin the game in stride with the Bulldogs thanks to an early triple from
Caylin Kelly. The Bulldogs would eventually work up a lead as large as six points late in the quarter before another jumper from Kelly kept the Dragons within four points. A late three-pointer from freshman
Aubrey Morrison near the end of the period would have the Dragons within three points after one frame.
Both teams would continue to trade baskets into the second quarter as the Dragons made a concerted effort to get the ball down low to senior
Terryn Johnson. The Kindred, N.D., native would drop in the first five points of the quarter for Moorhead, including a successful and-one.
Grace Massaquoi would be matchup nightmare all evening for the Bulldogs with the junior getting into the paint and getting easy looks. Minnesota Duluth would lead by as many as eight points in the second quarter, but would lead by just five points at the break.
Massaquoi and Johnson would continue to pace the Dragons offensively into the second half before the Bulldogs began to pull away. The visitors would build a 15-point lead with under a minute to play in the third quarter. A pair of freebies from Massaquoi would have the Dragons down 13 points heading into the final 10 minutes. Credit to the Dragons, who were especially stingy on defense to begin the final frame, beginning the quarter on a 10-2 run to pull back within five points.
Ashton Safranski would enliven the Nemzek crowd with a triple to cap the run.
After another three, this time from Massaquoi, Moorhead had the contest within a possession, trailing 55-52. Safranksi would score, followed by free throw makes from Massaquoi and the Dragons regained the lead. The squads would trade free throws down the stretch with the teams tied at 61 points with 35 seconds left in regulation. The Dragons would use defense to their advantage again, holding the Bulldogs scoreless on their final possession to send the game into an extra session. Moorhead held Minnesota Duluth to three of 16 shooting in the final quarter.
The Bulldogs were quick to their offense in the overtime session, building a six-point lead and holding MSUM scoreless. The Dragons would stay within reach, trailing by two after free throw makes from Massaquoi and Kelly. Eventually, time seemed to be against the Dragons as the Bulldogs led by four points with 11 seconds remaining. While Morrison would quickly score on the ensuing Dragon possession, Moorhead would not get the needed steal to keep the game going. The Bulldogs claimed the win, 73-69. Massaqoui scored a Dragon career-high 21 points to go along with seven rebounds. Johnson narrowly missed a double-double, scoring 18 points with nine rebounds.
Top Dragons
Steve d'Eustachio's Stat of the Game
The Dragons have now lost two straight after scoring at least 100 in a game for the first time since losing at Northern St. and a home contest to Bemidji St. after walloping Winona St. 101-68 in Moorhead on Jan. 15, 1994.
Up Next
MSUM (4-3, 1-2 NSIC) returns to the road next week for matchups with Minot State and UMary. The Dragons take on the Beavers to open the weekend on Thursday beginning at 7:30 p.m.
