Story by Hunter Plante-
The University of Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagle Men’s Basketball team traveled to Aberdeen to compete in the Dacotah Bank Thanksgiving Classic hosted by Northern State University and used stifling defense to defeat the Saints, who are an NAIA school, 75-44.
The Saints would get off to a 2-0 lead, but Leonard Dixon (R-Jr., F, Damascus, Ore.) would quickly give the Golden Eagles a lead that they would never give back with a right corner three. Ethan Channel (R-Jr., G, Beaverton, Ore.) would bury a three from the top of the key, which would be followed by another Dixon three, forcing a Presentation timeout. The Saints would come back and tie things at 12, but an Uzo Dibiamaka (R-So., G, Adelaide, South Australia) three and a midrange jumper would help the Golden Eagles go on a 7-0 run to get the maroon and gold a 19-12 lead.
The Golden Eagles would finish the half on an 18-6 to head into the halftime break with a 38-23 lead, their largest lead at the half this season. Dixon would have 15 first-half points, while Dibiamaka was a big part of that run, finishing with 13 points in the first 20 minutes.
Dibiamaka would pick up right where he left off, scoring the first two points of the half. The Golden Eagles would go on an 8-0 run, including five points from Brian Sitzmann (R-Sr., G, Savage, Minn.) and yet another three from Dixon to give the Golden Eagles a 22 point lead five minutes into the second half. The Golden Eagles would eventually stretch their lead to 29, using back-to-back-to-back fast-break layups from Zach Westphal (R-Sr., G, West Fargo, N.D.), Jerome Mabry (R-So., F, Milwaukee, Wis.) and Dylan Hushaw (R-So., G, Las Vegas, Nev.). The Golden Eagles would close out the Saints, 75-44.
The Golden Eagles were led by Dibiamaka and Dixon, who scored 19 and 18, respectively. It was a career-high 19 points for Dibiamaka. Sitzmann had nine points, while Westphal and Mabry each finished with seven. Hushaw had 5 points as well. Minnesota Crookston shot 8-17 from deep, highlighted by 4-6 shooting from deep from Dixon. As a team, the Golden Eagles shot a season-high 57.7 percent from the field.
UMC improves to 3-3 on the year and will look to extend their winning streak to three tomorrow afternoon against Midwestern State (TX) at 3 P.M., from Wachs Arena.
| BOX SCORE | 1st | 2nd | Final |
| Minnesota Crookston | 38 | 37 | 75 |
| Presentation College | 23 | 21 | 44 |
