Wildcats’ Julien Smith pours in 27 points
DULUTH, Minn. – In a physical battle against the No. 6 Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs, Julien Smith scored a season-high 27 points, but the Wildcats weren’t able to overcome a 22-point first half from UMD’s Matt Thompson as the Bulldogs defeated the Wildcats, 79-67.
Julien Smith led all scorers with 27 points, shooting 7-13 (53.8%) from the floor, 5-9 (55.6%) from beyond the arc, and a perfect 8-8 from the charity stripe. Northern struggled to find significant contributions outside of Smith, as the rest of the team combined for 40 points on 16-41 (39.0%) shooting. UMD’s Matt Thompson scored 22 points, all in the first half, while Caleb Siwek added 20 and Charlie Katona chipped in another 18.
Northern held the slight edge on the glass, 34-33, with Smith pacing NMU with seven. The ‘Cats also led in points in the paint 26-18, but Duluth connected on 14 triples to NMU’s eight while also commanding points off turnovers, 16-5.
NMU struggled with UMD’s defensive pressure early, committing five turnovers and shooting just 3-10 in the opening 10 minutes. In combination with a lethal shooting touch from Duluth’s Thompson, the Wildcats trailed 20-8 as the first half crossed the 10-minute mark. Thompson scored all 22 of his points in less than a nine-minute stretch, connecting on six of his first seven triple attempts. The Wildcats trailed 29-12 with seven minutes before halftime.
In the final eight minutes of the first half, Smith scored nine on three separate three-point plays, two triples and another of the old-fashioned variety. Weathering the initial storm, Northern trailed 37-24 at intermission.
Smith kept the ‘Cats within reach in the second half, scoring another quick six within the first minute to close the gap to single digits. With 17:25 to play, he hit another from downtown to make it a 41-35 game, but UMD scored the next 10 to balloon the gap back to 16, 51-35, with 15 minutes to play.
The teams exchanged buckets over the next seven minutes before NMU went on a 7-0 run to once again make it a single-digit deficit at 65-56 with 5:38 remaining.
Unfortunately for the Green and Gold, they were never able to fully get back in it as Duluth converted on its free throws down the stretch, along with a pair of triples, to put the game away.
Northern fell to 3-2 with the loss while UMD improved to 5-0.
Up Next
The Wildcats will finally play in Vandament Arena on Saturday, November 30, hosting Concordia (WI) at 3 p.m.
