UMC MEN’S BASKETBALL STRUGGLES IN SECOND HALF IN LOSS TO ST. CLOUD STATE

The University of Minnesota Crookston (UMC) Men’s Basketball team led by as many as 12 points in the first half, but was outscored 54-29 over the final 28 minutes of the game in a 72-57 loss to St. Cloud State in an NSIC game played at Hallenbeck Hall in St. Cloud.

First Half –
Harrison Cleary (Sr., Oak Creek, WI) opened the first half scoring for Minnesota Crookston with a three-pointer on the Golden Eagles opening possession. Cleary added a second three-pointer before Malcolm Cohen (R-Sr., Detroit, MI) connected from the long line extending UMC’s lead to 9-2 with 17:12 to play in the first half. Leading 9-7, Javier Nicolau (Sr., Castellon, Spain) scored 5-straight points extending Minnesota Crookston’s lead to 14-7 with 15:08 to play in the first half. After the Huskies pulled within 20-16 with 11:07 to play in the first half, Malcolm Cohen scored a lay-up to spark an 8-0 run for the Golden Eagles as the visitors opened up a 28-16 lead with 8:39 to play in the opening half. St. Cloud State responded by holding their visitors scoreless for over five minutes while scoring nine unanswered to pull within 28-25 before Chase Johnson (R-Jr., La Crosse, WI) scored a lay-up ending Minnesota Crookston’s scoring drought. The Huskies close the half with the final 4 points to pull within 30-29 at halftime while limiting UMC to just two points over the final 8:38 of the first half. “We do a possession sheet,” explained UMC head coach Dan Weisse. “We had 28 points on the first 19 possessions. That’s a heck of a clip, but after that, we scored two points on the next thirteen possessions. They got it to one point. Their pressure bothered us. I thought that was disappointing because I thought we were ready for their pressure. They got excited and into the game. We didn’t raise the bar when they did.”

Second Half –
St. Cloud State opened the second half with an 11-3 run to take a 40-33 lead. An additional 11-2 run expanded the Huskies lead to 51-38 with 11:54 to play. Ibu Jassey-Demba (Jr., Birmingham, United Kingdom), Malcolm Cohen, and Harrison Cleary scored UMC’s next three baskets all from beyond the three-point line bringing the Golden Eagles back within 56-47. UMC pulled within eight following a Javier Nicolau dunk with 5:53 to play, but St. Cloud State put the game out of reach with a 10-0 run to close out a 72-57 win. “They’re very athletic,” added Weisse. “They get out and run in transition. That’s what hurt us. We had to make them play in the halfcourt. In the second half, we let them get out and run, and it cost us.”

Minnesota Crookston falls to 7-6 overall and 3-4 in NSIC play. The Golden Eagles return to the court on Saturday when UMC takes on Minnesota Duluth at 5:30 P.M. on KROX. St. Cloud State improves to 8-5 overall and 5-2 in conference play.