MINNESOTA CROOKSTON MEN’S BASKETBALL OUTMUSCLED IN LOSS TO NORTHERN STATE

Minnesota Crookston men’s basketball conceded nearly every loose ball and saw their opponent shoot 10-12 from the three-point line in the first half of an 88-75 loss to Northern State Wolves in an NSIC matchup played at Lysaker Gymnasium in Crookston.
Northern State looked the part of the defending NSIC champions early and often throughout the first half. Northern State opened with the game’s first six points after a pair of three-pointers from Andrew Kallman gave the Wolves a 6-0 lead just 1:03 into the game. Gable Smith got Minnesota Crookston on the scoreboard with a lay-up, but Gabe King answered that with another three-pointer giving Northern State a 9-2 lead with 18:00 left in the first half. UMC countered with a 4-0 run after a Chase Knickerbocker jumper and another Gable Smith lay-in cutting the deficit down to 9-6 before Gabe King connected on another one of Northern State’s 10 first-half three-pointers to put NSU ahead 12-6. The Golden Eagles utilized another 4-0 run to pull within 12-10 but once again Northern State made a three-pointer, this one from Jordan Belka giving the Wolves a 15-10 lead. The Wolves scored their first non-three pointer of the game with 13:34 left in the first half when Parker Fox finished at the rim giving the visitors a 17-12 lead. Back-to-back Northern State three-pointers spurred a 5-0 UMC run giving the Wolves a six-point lead sparking a 16-5 run over five minutes to separate Northern State ahead 33-22. Minnesota Crookston scored the next six points to claw back within 33-28 and pulled within 42-38 with 1:08 to play after a Gable Smith jump shot, but the Wolves closed the first half with a 5-0 run taking a 47-38 lead into halftime. “There were too many open looks,” said UMC head coach Dan Weisse after Northern State’s impressive first-half shooting. “Ten of twelve (from the three-point line) is a heck of a clip, but we let (Ian) Smith control the game. He may have not been the guy making those shots, but he was the guy getting those guys shots. We do scouting reports, our assistants spend a lot of time doing scouting reports, we’ve got to play a little more attention to them. We got certain things we do defensively but give Northern State a lot of credit.”
Northern State scored eleven of the first fifteen points in the second half opening up a 58-42 lead with 15:56 remaining. Another 5-0 run pushed the visitors’ lead to 63-44. Trailing 69-52 with 11:21 remaining, Harrison Cleary made a three-pointer sparking an 8-0 run for Minnesota Crookston to pull within 69-60. Northern State continued to withstand every UMC run in one fashion or another. The Wolves made five-straight free throws over a two-minute span to regain a sixteen-point lead with 4:45 to play. Gable Smith made a lay-up to pull the Golden Eagles back within 80-70 with 2:37 to play, but the Wolves proved too much down the stretch, making their free throws and remaining unbeaten in conference play with an 88-75 win in Crookston. “I didn’t think we played our best basketball,” summarized Weisse. “Offensively we were fine. We could play a little better on that end, but I just thought we got out-toughed tonight. They got every 50-50 ball. They had fifteen offensive rebounds and it’s a good team. They make you pay for little things. They were tougher tonight and it doesn’t have to be that way.”
Minnesota Crookston drops to 7-4 overall and 1-2 in conference play. The Golden Eagles return to the court next Saturday when they travel to Sioux Falls to take on Augustana at 4:30 p.m. Northern State improves to 7-2 overall and 3-0 in the NSIC.