DEFENSIVE STRUGGLES CONTINUE TO MOUNT AS UMC MEN’S BASKETBALL STRUGGLES WITH SIOUX FALLS

The University of Minnesota Crookston (UMC) Men’s Basketball team allowed its opponent to shoot over 50% from the field for the third straight game in a 77-62 loss against Sioux Falls in an NSIC game played at Lysaker Gymnasium.

1st Half –
Javier Nicolau (Sr., Castellon, Spain) made a pair of lay-up for Minnesota Crookston’s first two baskets trimming the Golden Eagles’ deficit down to 5-3. Malcolm Cohen (R-Sr., Detroit, MI) made a three-pointer tying the game at 7-7. After Cohen made a second three-pointer, Zac Olson (R-Soph., Waterville) followed with a jump shot giving the Golden Eagles a 12-10 lead. Brian Sitzamann (Soph., Savage went on a personal 5-0 run increasing Minnesota Crookston’s lead to 17-14. With 4:15 to play in the first half, the Golden Eagles led 25-23, but Sioux Falls closed the half on a 12-2 run taking a 35-27 lead into halftime. “We went on a little bit of a dry spell,” noted University of Minnesota Crookston head coach Dan Weisse. “We scored on two of our last ten possessions (of the half), or something to that effect. We came up empty, and they ran a heck of a lot of sets tonight. They exposed some things. At the end of the half, they went on a little bit of a run to get some separation.”

2nd Half –
Harrison Cleary (Sr., Oak Creek, WI) scored the first five points of the second half bringing the Golden Eagles back within 35-32 with 19:13 to play. Sioux Falls responded with an 11-0 run taking a 46-32 lead with 15:42 to play. Quintin Winterfeldt (Fr., Waupun, WI) countered with a jump shot sparking a 7-2 UMC run trimming the Golden Eagles deficit down to 48-39 with 14:08 to play. Trailing 55-39, Minnesota Crookston used an 8-3 run to pull within 56-47 with 10:19 remaining. Quintin Winterfeldt made a three-pointer followed by a Harrison Cleary lay-up making it 60-55 with 8:48 left in the game. “When we cut the deficit down to five, I was really pleased about that,” said Weisse. “We fought back, and you can’t fault the effort of our guys. It’s the execution that let us down. Sometimes there some simple things that we practice, but don’t execute at both ends of the floor.” Minnesota Crookston failed to score for over six minutes before a Malcolm Cohen three-pointer with 2:12 to play cut the Golden Eagles deficit down to 70-60. Minnesota Crookston couldn’t pull within single-digits the rest of the game as Sioux Falls closed out a 77-62 win. “This was a tough weekend, and it’s been a rough stretch here,” added Weisse. “We’ve got to get things figures out. Things have to change. We have to change some things up. We also have to stay together as a team and keep grinding. Hopefully, good things we’ll happen for our team if we just stay together.”

Minnesota Crookston falls to 9-13 overall. The Golden Eagles return to the court on Friday when UMC travels to Mankato to play Minnesota State at 7:30 P.M. Sioux Falls improves to 17-5 overall and 13-3 in conference play.