Cougars pounce on Northland College
(Pictured right Eric Dalbey) Four points shy (30) of tying his career high.
Story by: Zach Koenig
Morris, MN—The University of Minnesota-Morris men’s basketball team scored a season-high 101 points on Saturday in a 101-71 thrashing of visiting Northland College.
Leading the scoring for the Cougars was Eric Dalbey (So. Mora, MN) with 30 points, just four shy of his career high. Will Jenson (Sr. Eau Claire, WI) contributed 25 points, and Daniel Fragodt (Fr. Benson, MN) rounded out the double-digit scorers with 13 points.
Daron Zych (Sr. Graceville, MN) pulled down an impressive 10 rebounds, while at least six other Cougars had three rebounds or more in the contest.
UMM got off to a fast start in the first half, taking a 26-15 lead after a Dalbey three-point shot at 15:31. Two free-throws from Jenson at 12:10 increased the lead to 30-17.
In the ensuing minutes, however, Northland College whittled the Cougar lead down to just four points (34-30) with 7:26 remaining. Minnesota-Morris responded by outscoring the visitors 17-9 for the rest of the half, putting the halftime score at 51-39.
Dalbey (22 points) and Jenson (13) led the Cougars’ first-half scoring. Zych had six rebounds in the half, while Corey Kelzenberg (Sr. Fridley, MN) added three of his own.
The Cougars opened the second half with 20 consecutive points from the Dalbey-Jenson combination, increasing their lead to 71-48.
At 7:28, a three-pointer from Jordan Noonan (So. Richfield, MN) put the score at 89-53.
Holding a 30-point lead in the closing seconds, a Chris Haglin (Sr. Superior, WI) three-pointer put the Cougars over the 100-point mark.
Both Jenson and Daniel Fragodt contributed 12 points in the second half, while Dalbey added eight and Jeremy Bosch (So. Salol, MN) six. Zych and Bosch also grabbed four rebounds apiece in the half.
The Cougars were an impressive 38-75 (50.7%) shooting from the floor, also outscoring Northland College in points off of turnovers (33-7) and bench points (33-16).
The victory bumped UMM’s record to 13-11 overall and 8-5 in the UMAC.
The Cougars next host Presentation College on Tuesday, February 19, in the final UMAC and home contest of the regular season. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
 | .jpg) |
| Minnesota-Morris | 51 | 50 | 0 | 101 |
| Northland College | 39 | 32 | 0 | 71 |
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