DICKINSON, N.D. – After a big comeback win last night, the Bulldog men's basketball team (6-4) was unable to secure tonight's close battle with the Mayville State Comets (9-2) after they fell 80-78 in the contest.
Four Bulldogs reached double-digits in tonight's loss, the second occurrence of the season with the first coming from Nov. 11 against Northern New Mexico College.
How It Happened
A pair of consecutive threes on back-to-back possessions from
Jalyn Stepney got UMW out to an 8-6 lead at the 16:43 mark.
Mayville's Jamison Kramer and BJ Woods each hit from three sparking a run that put the Comets out by ten with under seven minutes to play in the half.
Michael Haverfield worked behind an offensive board from
Jacksen Burckley to hit a three from the arc and
Christian Pitcher followed with a triple of his own. Haverfield continued hitting from three as UMW cut it back to a four-point deficit.
The Bulldogs would go into the half up just one at 44-43 after Burckley drained a three with 34 seconds remaining in the half.
The Comets were the first to find the hoop after the half when MSU's Thomas Gieske hit for two. The Comets would then stretch their lead to four at 48-44 following an and one opportunity that MSU's Stevan Garza converted on.
Despite the close score, Mayville would ride a 12-0 scoring run across a six-minute stretch and go up 66-54.
Abi Adedo broke the scoreless stretch for the Bulldogs with a jumper in the paint and sparked a big Bulldog run. UMW would rattle off 10 straight points to bring it back to 66-64.
The two teams exchanged blows throughout the final minutes and the Comets won the power struggle to finish the game on top at 80-78.
Notables
- UMW moves to 6-4 on the season after tonight's loss.
- The Bulldogs were narrowly outshot by the Comets as UMW was 51.7 percent from the field and MSU went 53.6 percent.
- Montana Western utilized their bench as Quincy Taylor, Kayden Toldson and Pitcher combined for 23 points.
- Adedo was the top scorer in the matchup for UMW after he hit 18 points and added five rebounds.
- Stepney followed with 14 points and five boards.
Up Next
Montana Western will take some time off and will prepare to travel to Chandler, Arizona to play in the Cactus Classic. The Bulldogs will first see the No. 5 Arizona Christian Firestorm on Dec. 15 at 6 p.m. MT.
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