The University of Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagle men’s basketball team held off a later rally to beat the University of Mary Marauders 71-66 in a Northern Sun Conference game played at Lysaker Gymnasium on Gary Senske Court in Crookston. UMC Freshman, Spencer Swenson led the Golden Eagles with 31 points and 13 rebounds.
FIRST HALF –
UMC had a great start to the game as they jumped out to an 8-2 lead behind four points from Spencer Swenson (Fresh. Sauk Rapids), and two points apiece from G.D. Deng (Sr. Des Moines, IA), and Alijah Washington (Jr. San Jose, CA). Mary made a three-pointer, and that started the teams exchanging baskets, and UMC led 21-14 with 11 minutes left in the half. UMC made three straight three-pointers with two from Washington and one from Deng for a 30-14 lead. Mary countered with two three-pointers before UMC scored five of the next seven points for a 37-22 lead with four minutes to go in the half. UMC had a 43-26 lead with 1:35 left before Mary scored the final five points and the Golden Eagles tok a 43-33 lead into halftime.
SECOND HALF –
The teams exchanged baskets for the first seven minutes of the half. With UMC leading 50-43, they went on an 11-0 run over a five-minute span to take a 61-43 lead. Swenson scored six points, Owen Chervestad (Fresh. Oklee) and J.D. Roberts (Jr. Parkville, MO) had two points, and Caiden Swenby (Soph. Fertile) made a free throw in the run. Mary responded in a big way as they went on a 17-2 run to get within a 63-60 deficit with 2:14 remaining. UMC’s Swenson stopped the run with a basket, and after a Mary basket, Swenson had a huge three-point play with 51 seconds left for a 68-62 lead. Mary answered with a 4-1 run to get within a 69-66 deficit with four seconds left. UMC’s Swenson was fouled with 2.1 seconds remaining and made both free throws, and the Golden Eagles won the game 71-66.
UMC improves to 6-20 overall and 4-16 in the NSIC and will host Minnesota Duluth in their final home game of the season on Wednesday. Mary drops to 5-21 overall and 3-17 in the NSIC.
| 1st | 2nd | Final | |
| Mary | 33 | 33 | 66 |
| UMC | 43 | 28 | 71 |
| For UMC | Points | Rebounds | Misc |
| Spencer Swenson | 31 | 13 | 1 assist/1 block |
| J.D. Roberts | 9 | 3 | 1 steal/1 block |
| Alijah Washington | 8 | 3 | 4 assists/2 steals |
| Caiden Swenby | 7 | 1 | |
| GD Deng | 5 | 2 | |
| Kuzadi Mukoma Jr. | 5 | 8 | 1 steal/1 block |
| Owen Chervestad | 4 | 3 | 4 assists/1 steal |
| Brayden Carlson | 2 | 1 | 2 assists |
