UMC MEN’S BASKETBALL STRUGGLES IN SECOND HALF OF LOSS TO MSU-MOORHEAD

Minnesota Crookston shot 54% from the field, but MSU-Moorhead shot 58% from the field and went 9-18 from the three-point line as the Dragons won 101-88 in an NSIC game played at Nemzek Fieldhouse in Moorhead.

Chase Knickerbocker (Sr., Annandale) scored Minnesota Crookston scored the Golden Eagles first points of the game with a jump shot tying the game at 2-2. MSU-Moorhead used a 4-0 run to take a 6-2 lead before Josh Collins (Sr., Minneapolis) split a pair of free throws bringing the Golden Eagles within 6-3. Josh Collins scored a lay-up on Minnesota Crookston’s next possession trimming the deficit down to 8-5. Trailing 16-9, Malcolm Cohen (R-Jr., Detroit, MI) connected on a three-pointer before scoring a lay-up pulling the visitors within 16-14 with 13:27 left in the first half. The Dragons continued to hit shots from deep and reached the thirty-point mark with 10:11 left in the first half with a triple giving the Dragons a 30-22 lead. “Early in the first half they had way too many points,” said UMC head coach Dan Weisse. “We finally played some defense and managed to tie it at the half.” Trailing 38-30 with 5:25 left in the first half, Ben Juhl made a three-pointer bring UMC within five before Malcolm Cohen connected on two straight shots, one from deep, tying the game at 38-38. Ben Juhl gave Minnesota Crookston its first lead with a mid-range jump shot putting the Golden Eagles ahead 42-40 with 0:43 left in the first half. With seven seconds left in the half, MSU-Moorhead scored a lay-up tying the game at 42-42 at halftime. “When it’s 42-42 that’s still a little bit high, but you can’t let it get much higher than that,” said Weisse. “They had 30 points in the first ten minutes of the game, but we kept ourselves in the game because we were shooting the ball well. When you’re shooting the ball well you can stay in games, but if you don’t get stops, you’ll never get separation.”

The Dragons opened the second half quickly with a 10-2 run giving MSU-Moorhead a 52-44 lead. Trailing 58-48 with 14:45 to play, Harrison Cleary (Jr., Oak Creek, WI) made a three-pointer bringing the Golden Eagles within 58-51. The Dragons extended their lead up to fifteen with 9:56 remaining before Harrison Cleary scored four-straight to pull UMC within eleven. Trailing 88-74 with 5:04 to play, a Josh Collins lay-up through a foul sparked a 5-0 run to pull Minnesota Crookston within nine, but it was the closest the Golden Eagles would trim their deficit the rest of the game as MSU-Moorhead secured its sixth straight win 101-88. “I felt like they were dictating in the second half,” summarized Weisse. “They were getting to the rim way too many times and we kind of reverted back to some old habits that got us to the 1-4 start (in NSIC play). We’ve got to get that fixed and fixed in a hurry. They adjusted and when we made our adjustments, they were already in a rhythm. We probably should’ve switched back a little earlier, but we still need to have a toughness about us and deny around the post. I felt like our guys wore down. We’ve just got to be tougher.”

Minnesota Crookston falls to 10-8 overall and 4-6 in the NSIC. The Golden Eagles return to the court Friday when they host Winona State at 7:30 p.m. MSU-Moorhead improves to 13-5 overall and 7-3 in conference play.