UMC MEN’S BASKETBALL OVERMATCHED BY NORTHERN STATE

The University of Minnesota Crookston (UMC) Men’s Basketball team struggled to keep pace with Northern State in a 97-60 loss in an NSIC game played at Lysaker Gymnasium in Crookston.

First Half –
After Northern State scored the opening basket, Malcolm Cohen (R-Sr., Detroit, MI) scored four straight points giving Minnesota Crookston a 4-2 lead. Javier Nicolau (Sr., Castellon, Spain) added back-to-back dunks on pick-and-rolls increasing the Golden Eagles lead to 8-4. The Wolves responded with a 6-0 run taking a 10-8 lead before Harrison Cleary (Sr., Oak Creek, WI) scored a lay-up tying the game at 10-10. Trailing 20-12, UMC went on a 6-0 run with two straight lay-ups by Brian Sitzmann (R-Soph., Savage) trimming the deficit down to 20-18. Northern State responded with a 10-0 run-in, creasing its lead to 30-18 with 7:36 to play in the half. Back-to-back three-pointers by the visitors established a 15 point lead before Tyrese Shines (Fr., La Grange, IL) scored at the rim off a steal for the final points of the half cutting Minnesota Crookston’s deficit down to 40-27 at halftime. “When the ball is not going in, it certainly affects our mentality, and we can’t let that happen,” explained UMC head coach Dan Weisse. “I was looking at the stats at halftime, and we shoot 9-33. I’m just thinking you’re not going to beat anybody shooting 9-33. Part of the reason we did the press (defense) was to get energy and open things up.”

Second Half –
The two teams traded lay-ups to open the second half as the Golden Eagles continued to struggle with their newly installed full-court press defense. Northern State used a 7-2 run to take a 49-31 lead with 17:58 to play. The Wolves continued their run with five more points increasing their lead to 53-31. Javier Nicolau made a free-throw to snap UMC’s scoring drought but Northern State continued to roll the rest of the night. Chase Johnson (R-Jr., La Crosse, WI) threw down a two-handed dunk trimming UMC’s deficit down to 54-34 but Northern State responded with a quick 5-0 run pulling ahead 59-34 with 13:29 to play. The Wolves Cruised over the final 14 minutes as NSU closed out a 97-60 win. “We need to shoot the ball better, and that’s been a theme the last two or three weeks,” added Weisse. “Tomorrow is another night, and we have to find ourselves. We need to move forward.”

Minnesota Crookston falls to 7-8 overall and 3-6 in the NSIC. The Golden Eagles return to the court on Saturday when UMC hosts MSU-Moorhead at 5:30 P.M. Northern State improves to 11-4 overall and 7-2 in conference play.