UMC MEN’S BASKETBALL STRUGGLES TO HIT SHOTS IN LOSS TO MINNESOTA DULUTH

The University of Minnesota Crookston Men’s Basketball team shot 39% from the field and just 8-23 from the three-point line in a 76-67 loss to Minnesota Duluth in an NSIC game played at Romano Gymnasium in Duluth. 

Minnesota Duluth opened the game with a lay-up from Bran Sitzmann (R-Fr., Savage) giving the Golden Eagles a 2-0 lead. Harrison Cleary (Jr., Oak Creek, WI) dropped a three-pointer giving the visitors a 5-0 lead before Minnesota Duluth scored a lay-up to pull within three. Sitzmann scored from the paint taking a 7-2 lead. Sitzmann made another lay-up pushing out to a 9-3 lead before UMD made a three-pointer to pull within three. After a pair of Harrison Cleary free-throws, Minnesota Duluth made another three-pointer to pull within 11-9. A pair of free-throws made by the Bulldogs giving UMD a 13-12 lead. With 4:23 left in the first half and both teams trading baskets, Ben Juhl (Soph., Clive, IA) made a lay-up tying the game at 23-23, but UMD responded with a 6-0 run before a pair of Cleary free-throws brought UMC within 29-25 at halftime. “I was really proud of our defense,” said UMC head coach Dan Weisse. “We were defending and rebounding. We just shot the ball so poorly.”

A lay-up gave the Bulldogs a 31-25 lead to open the second half. Malcolm Cohen answered with a three-pointer bringing the Golden Eagles within 31-28. UMD countered with a 5-0 run to take a 36-28 lead before Harrison Cleary made a jump shot bringing Minnesota Crookston within six. Josh Collins (Sr., Minneapolis) made a lay-up cutting UMC’s deficit down to 36-32 with 16:03 to play. Following a Javier Nicolau (R-Jr., Castellon, Spain) block, Josh Collins was called for an offensive foul and argued with thre referee to the point he was assesed consecutive technical fouls and thrown out of the game. The Collins ejection led to two made free-throws by the Bulldogs and a three-pointer of their subsequent possesion giving the hosts a 41-32 lead. UMD made another lay-up to take a 43-32 lead, before Nicolau made a three-pointer to answer for the Golden Eagles. Gable Smith made a lay-up brining the visitors within 43-37 with 13:38 to play. With 9:48 to play, Minnesota Duluth made a three-pointer to take a 50-39 lead. UMC trimmed their deficit back down to single digits with 5:18 to play following a Harrison Cleary three-pointer and further trimmed the deficit down to 63-57 with 4:04 to play. Minnesota Duluth made enough free-throws and made enough defensive stops down the stretch and managed to closeout a 76-67 win. “The shooting woes have been tough for us,” summarized Weisse. “Even at home really, we’ve got find a way to put the ball in the hole. Duluth does a pretty good job defensively. I do think we missed some open ones we usually make. It’s too bad. I though we played hard. I thought the game plan was good. We made some mistakes, certainly, but it was absolutely disappointing. We’re running out of opportunities here.”

Minnesota Crookston falls to 16-14 on the year and 9-12 in conference play. The Golden Eagles return to the court on Saturday when UMC takes on St. Cloud State at 5:30 p.m. on KROX. Minnesota Duluth improves to 16-9 overall and 14-8 in NSIC play.