Volume 78 / Number 18
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Men's basketball loses on Alumni Day
BY ARIK FORSMAN | STATESMAN STAFF WRITER
After throttling the no. 10 ranked Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks 73-56 Jan. 19, the UMD men's basketball team looked to take down another previously ranked team last Saturday at Romano Gym.
Despite an explosive first half from Jordan Nuness, the St. Cloud State Huskies (SCSU) came away with the road conference victory, 82-73, on Alumni Day.
The Bulldogs stumbled out of the gate, mustering only 11 points in the first 13 minutes. That's when Nuness exploded. The senior hit his second 3 pointer of the game with 6:27 left in the first half. He dropped another one on his next shot 34 seconds later to bring the Bulldogs to within four points.
Nuness dropped four more bombs on his next four attempts, going 6/6 from three-point range in the first half and electrifying the crowd while giving the Bulldogs their first lead, 29-28, with 2:19 left in the first half. The Dogs would hold a four-point lead at the half, and despite an eighth 3-pointer in the second half by Nuness, SCSU pulled away by scoring 50 in the second half.
"I thought the first half we played pretty well," Nuness said. "We started off a little sluggish, stuck at nine points for about four minutes there.
But we finished the half real well, we just didn't carry it over in the second half."
David Dreas of the Huskies led all scorers with 31 points, while Nuness led the Bulldogs with 28 points and senior Ryan Meissner had a great effort with 19 points, shooting 10-11 from the field.
Despite the loss, Nuness and his team are confident. "After the Omaha game, we showed that we can compete with some of the elite teams," Nuness said. "We were finally getting it, putting everything together, and then tonight he [coach Gary Holquist] thought first half we played solid, he just said second half we had some lapses. But he still thinks we're going to get there, and everyone else believes in it, and I think eventually we will get there."
Many former men's and women's greats were on hand for Alumni Day, including recent graduates like Lindsey Dietz and former stars like Roger Hanson ('61-'65). One of those attending was former Bulldog captain and Division II first team All-American Jason Schneeweis ('99-'03), who had some thoughts on his old ball coach Holquist.
"He [Holquist] takes things very seriously, and helps you through things," Schneeweis said. "Not just as a coach, but as a person."
The Bulldogs fell to 1-4 in the North Central Conference and 8-12 overall and will travel to take on No. 6 ranked South Dakota tonight.
