The University of Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagle Men’s Basketball team treated the fans to an exciting game in their home opener but came up short in a 66-64 loss to the University of Wisconsin-Parkside 66-64 in overtime on Gary Senske Court at Lysaker Gymnasium on the UMC Campus.
FIRST HALF –
With the 11:00 a.m. start, the teams were a little slow, and UMC had a 4-3 lead three minutes into the game. Parkside started to warm up with seven straight points to take a 10-4 lead. UMC responded with a 9-0 run with a Christian Bowen-Webb (Jr. Atchison, Kansas) three-pointer and six straight points by Chandler Meeks (Soph. Omaha, Neb) for a 13-10 lead with 12:25 left in the half. The teams battled back and forth for the next seven minutes, and the game was tied at 24. Parkside made a three-pointer before UMC’s Micah Garrett (Jr. Portland, OR) hit a jump shot. Parkside answered with a basket before the Golden Eagles’ Reid Grant (Sr. Johnstown, IA) buried a three-pointer to tie the game at 29 with less than three minutes to go in the half.
UMC’s offense struggled in the half’s final two minutes as Parkside took a 34-29 lead into halftime.
SECOND HALF –
UMC had a good start to the second half as they went on a 7-2 run with Garrett and Meeks baskets before a three-pointer to tie the game at 36. As the game of runs continued, Parkside responded with an 8-2 run for a 44-38 lead. UMC countered with two Meeks baskets and a Braydon Carlson shot in the paint to tie the game at 44 with 11:14 left in regulation. Parkside slowly built a 59-51 lead with 3:53 remaining, and things weren’t looking good for the Golden Eagles. That all changed when UMC picked up the defensive pressure and shut down the Parkside offense, and finished regulation on an 8-0 run with Bowen-Webb sparking the run with a three-pointer. Jordan Mitchell (Sr. Columbus, OH) had a nice move in the post for a reverse layup. Meeks made a free throw, and with 42 seconds left in regulation, Meeks added a layup to tie the game at 59-59. UMC called a timeout to set up the defense. After the timeout, Parkside was called for an offensive foul, and UMC got the ball back with 10.3 seconds remaining. UMC turned the ball over with two seconds left, and a Parkside shot at the buzzer went off the rim, and the game was tied at 59-59, forcing overtime.
OVERTIME –
UMC won the tip and turned the ball over in the first possession. Parkside turned the ball over on their first overtime possession before UMC’s Meeks buried a three-pointer for a 62-59 lead. Parkside battled back, and UMC had a 64-63 lead with less than two minutes remaining. With less than 30 seconds remaining, UMC missed the front end of the bonus free throw. Parkside worked the ball around before Rokas Castillo made a three-pointer to give the Rangers a 66-64 lead with 1.8 seconds remaining. UMC’s last-second half-court shot at the buzzer went off the back of the rim, and Parkside won 66-64 in overtime.
UMC drops to 1-2 on the season and will host former NSIC team Upper Iowa at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday. Wisconsin-Parkside improves to 1-2 on the year.
| 1st | 2nd | OT | Final | |
| Wisconsin Parkside | 34 | 25 | 7 | 66 |
| Minnesota Crookston | 29 | 30 | 5 | 64 |
| For UMC | Points | Rebounds | Assists/Steals |
| Chandler Meeks | 20 | 3 | 3 steals/2 assists |
| Jordan Mitchell | 10 | 9 | 2 assists |
| Christian Bowen-Webb | 9 | 2 steals | |
| Micah Garrett | 7 | 1 | |
| Reid Grant | 5 | 3 | 7 assists/1 steal |
| Hunter Lorenson | 4 | 2 | |
| Ben Hoverson | 3 | 2 | 1 assist |
| Aguek Deng | 2 | 2 | 1 steal |
| Brayden Carlson | 2 | 1 assist | |
| Andrew Stokes | 2 | ||
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