TURNOVERS COSTLY FOR UMC MEN’S BASKETBALL IN LOSS TO MINOT STATE

The University of Minnesota Crookston (UMC) Golden Eagles Men’s Basketball team welcomed the Minot State Beavers into Lysaker Gymnasium on Saturday evening for a crucial NSIC conference game. The two teams met earlier in the season with Minot State winning 88-83. UMC was hoping to turn the tides in this game, but Minot State used two first-half runs and took care of the basketball to come away with an 88-68 win over the Golden Eagles. “We talk about energy, toughness, and rebounding, and I thought we lost all three of those categories today,” said UMC Head Coach Dan Weisse.

FIRST HALF –

Nathaniel Powell (So. Nottingham, England) got the scoring started for UMC with a monster dunk, and after a Minot State layup, Jerome Mabry (So. Milwaukee, Wis.) would hit a jumper making it 4-2 UMC early. UMC continued an impressive start, as Powell would score a layup, and then an Ethan Channel (Jr. Beaverton, Ore.) three would make it 10-4 Golden Eagles with 15:28 to play in the first half. Minot State controlled the rest of the half, using a 19-5 run thanks to multiple UMC turnovers to take a 23-15 lead. “They had a lot of guys that hurt us tonight,” said UMC Head Coach Dan Weisse. “They were extremely balanced, and we didn’t have an answer defensively.” Brian Sitzmann (Sr. Savage, Minn.) finally stopped the bleeding with a three, and Channel followed that up with a three of his own as the Golden Eagles were able to cut the deficit to 25-21. Minot State would use another run in the remaining 6:11 of the half, this time outscoring UMC 17-8 to take a 42-29 lead into the halftime break. UMC committed 10 turnovers in the first half, and shot 40% from the field, while Minot State committed just 3 turnovers and shot 52% from the field. “They weren’t necessarily pressuring us, we just have to take care of the basketball better,” said UMC Head Coach Dan Weisse. “I wish I had a better answer, but this has been our biggest problem this year, and we simply just have to do a better job taking care of the basketball, and we also have to shoot better and knock down some shots.”

SECOND HALF –

Sitzmann was able to connect on a three early, but the Beavers stretched their lead to 49-34 with 17:04 remaining in the game. UMC would go on their best scoring run of the game, an 8-0 run to pull within seven at 49-42 with 15:05 left to play. Scoring in the run for UMC was Mabry, Uzo Dibiamaka (So. Adelaide, Australia), Channel, and Powell. The teams traded a few baskets before a Sam Tiley (Jr. Fort Collins, Co.) three gave Minot State a slim edge at 57-52 with 10:30 to play. The Beavers would always have an answer however and would score six of the next seven points to take a commanding lead back at 63-53 with 8:06 remaining. UMC would score on the next possession thanks to a Zach Westphal (Sr. West Fargo, N.D.) jumper, but the score would never get closer than 8 the rest of the game. Minot State would continue to make their free throws and take care of the basketball, and UMC was outscored 23-11 in the final 7:21 for a Minot State 88-68 victory. UMC turned the ball over 17 times in the loss and shot just 41% compared to just 6 turnovers from Minot State and a 51% field goal percentage. The Golden Eagles were without one of their better players in Leonard Dixon (Jr. Damascus, Ore.) who is dealing with an injury. “I would say he is questionable right now for next weekend,” said UMC Head Coach Dan Weisse. “He is doing everything he can to get back and help us win but will take it day by day and see what happens.”

UMC falls to 8-15 on the season and 5-12 in NSIC play. They will be back in action next weekend with two road contests against Minnesota State Moorhead on Friday, and Northern State University on Saturday. Minot State improves to 13-7 overall and 7-7 in NSIC play.