Zimmer’s Career High Carries Dragons To Sixth Straight Win

Dane Zimmer set a career high in points scored by the end of the first half, helping the Dragons beat Duluth, 103-95

DULUTH, Minn — A career-high from sophomore forward Dane Zimmer helped the Minnesota State University Moorhead men’s basketball team extend its winning streak to six games with a 103-95 win over Minnesota Duluth on Saturday at Romano Gymnasium in Duluth.

MSUM is now 6-2 overall and 6-0 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference’s North Division. The Dragons are tied with Northern State for the north lead. UMD fell to 2-3 overall and 1-3 in the north.

Zimmer finished with a career-high 27 points on 12-of-14 shooting from the field. He hit 3-of-4 from downtown. His previous career high was 21 at Minnesota Crookston earlier this year.

Including Zimmer, six Dragons scored in double figures. Senior guard Gatdoar Kueth had 15 points while junior guard Lorenzo McGhee had 14 and junior guard Bryce Irsfeld 13. Junior guard Gavin Baumgartner had 11 points while junior center Jesse Bergh had 10. Kueth led with eight rebounds while Baumgartner and Irsfeld had seven assists each.

MSUM shot 29-of-54 (53.7 percent) for the game compared to 30-of-61 (49.2 percent) for the Bulldogs. MSUM had a 37-34 edge on the boards.

The two teams combined to commit 61 fouls and shoot 89 free throws in the game. MSUM finished the game 36-of-47 from the line compared to 26-of-42 for the Bulldogs. A total of five players fouled out in the game.

Seven Dragons made a free throw in the game, led by McGhee with an 8-for-8 effort.

Zimmer’s big first half helped MSUM take a 51-46 lead. He surpassed his career-high in the first half alone with 22 points on 10-of-12 shooting. He was 2-of-3 from behind the arc.

MSUM was actually down 31-23 with 7:14 left in the first half but ended the half on a 28-15 run to take the five-point lead into halftime.

MSUM head coach Chad Walthall finished 4-0 against two of his former assistants this season — UMD head coach Justin Wieck and UMC head coach Dan Weisse — as the Dragons swept both teams.

Courtesy: MSUM Athletics