DULUTH, MN – Returning to the court for the first time in nearly three weeks, a youthful University of Mary men's basketball team faced off against a veteran and 23^rd-ranked University of Minnesota Duluth squad. The visiting Marauders fought within a possession midway through the second half before the Bulldogs pulled away for an 82-60 win in Northern Sun play.
 
Brock Heffner followed up a 36-point game in his last outing with a 19 point effort against UMD. Limited to just 21 minutes due to foul issues, the sophomore forward created a matchup challenge for the Bulldogs. Heffner hit 8-of-11 shots and also grabbed three rebounds.
 
Gerald Gittens added ten points for UMary. Marquel Saleek and Ty Rogers gave the Marauders a boost off the bench, scoring nine points apiece. Saleek added three assists and Rogers had three rebounds. Xavier Lewis led UMary with six rebounds.
 
Drew Blair scored a team-leading 18 points for UMD. Charlie Katona added 16 and Austin Andrews had 14 as five Bulldogs finished in double figures.
 
Down 13 at break, the Marauders scored the first eight points of the second half as Gittens drained a trey and Heffner converted a 3-point play to spark the run and pull UMary within 42-37. A Zyon Smith trey eventually closed the Marauders gap to 53-52. Following a pair of UMD baskets, Lewis roared down the lane to hammer home a dunk to pull UMary within 57-54 with 11:55 to play.
 
UMD (11-3, 6-2 NSIC) then clamped down on the UMary (6-7, 1-6 NSIC) offense, holding the Marauders scoreless for the next eight minutes while expanding the Bulldogs lead.
 
The Marauders shot 38.5% from the field, hit 3-of-19 treys and went 7-of-14 at the line. The Bulldogs converted 52.7% of their shots (4-of-12 on treys). UMD was 20-of-29 on free throws as UMary was cited for 22 fouls to 12 for the Bulldogs.
 
The Marauders return to action at Concordia-St. Paul at 3:30 pm on Saturday, January 5.
 
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