UMC Men’s Basketball wins crazy back and forth game against Minot State

The University of Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagle men’s basketball team were down 6 players in a game that had 10 ties and 10 lead changes but persevered to a 72-69 victory over the Minot State Beavers on Thursday night at Lysaker Gymnasium.

FIRST HALF –
UMC opened the game on a 7-2 run with the help of a big 3-pointer from Brady Westphal (Fr., West Fargo). Minot State brought the lead down to 1 before UMC brought it back to 5 with a 15-10 lead. From there, though, the Beavers pulled ahead with an 8-0 run, putting them up 18-15. UMC got a 3-pointer from GD Deng (Sr., Des Moines, IA) to tie the game at 18, but then Isaiah Alexander hit two shots to start a 7-0 run, putting Minot State up 25-18 with 7:24 remaining. The lead stayed at 7 with 6:21 to go, but Spencer Swenson (Fr., Sauk Rapids) and Kazadi Mukoba Jr. (Jr., Grand Island, NE) led the Golden Eagles on a 9-2 run to tie the game at 29. For the final 2:34 of the period, Minot State got one free throw and the Golden Eagles got another Mukoba Jr. 3-pointer, and somehow the Golden Eagles were able to take a 32-30 lead into the break.

SECOND HALF –
The second half began with no points in the first 90 seconds before the teams began exchanging buckets back and forth. At 38-35 UMC, the Beavers scored 6 points in a minute to go up 3, but as the rest of the half went, the lead continued to change hands. UMC tied the game twice before the Beavers took a 48-47 lead with 14:22 to go. From there, neither team scored for 3 minutes before Minot State built up their biggest lead of the game, going on a 10-3 run to take a 58-50 lead with 9:17. After a timeout, UMC went on their best run of the game in response. Spencer Swenson and Owen Chervestad (Fr., Oklee) led the Golden Eagles on an 11-2 run to take a 61-60 lead with 5:48 remaining. Minot State had a response, however, and with 4:22 left, the Beavers bounced back to take a 67-63 lead. That’s when JD Roberts (Jr., Parkville, MO) took over, hitting a shot to tie the game at 67, and then scoring a 3-point play with 1:10 left to give UMC a 70-69. Roberts then hit a shot with 36 seconds left to seal the game for the Golden Eagles, as they held on for a 72-69 win.

UMC improves to 5-20 on the season, 3-16 in the NSIC. Minot State is now 10-15, 7-12 in the conference.

Alijah Washington

Caiden Swemby

Spencer Swenson

Kazadi Mukoba Jr.

Owen Chervestad

Alijah Washington

Caiden Swemby

Spencer Swenson

Kazadi Mukoba Jr.

Owen Chervestad

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