Drew Blair made five of his eight three-point shots and scored 28 points to lead Minnesota Duluth to a 62-52 victory over Southern Nazarene on Tuesday night in the NCAA Division II Central Region men's basketball title game in Maryville, Mo.
"Our toughness and defense this week were off the charts," Bulldogs coach Justin Wieck said. "I am so proud of them."
Blair, a 6-5 redshirt guard who was named the region's Most Outstanding Player, went over 2,000 career points in this game. He now has 2,003; the school record is 2,045.
Junior guard Joshua Brown also had a big game for UMD with nine points — giving him 1,000 for hic career — and 11 rebounds.
The victory advances the Bulldogs (26-9)to the Elite Eight. Those quarterfinals, the ensuing semifinals and championship game will be in Evansville, Ind., on March 21, 23 and 25.
The night before, UMD advanced to the women's basketball Elite Eight.
U baseball loses in 15th
A disappointing season for Gophers baseball continues. Minnesota lost 6-4 to Gonzaga in 15 innings at U.S. Bank Stadium in a nonconference game.
The Bulldogs scored four runs in the top of the 15th, the Gophers (2-15) scored only two in the bottom of the inning.
