The University of Minnesota Crookston (UMC) Men’s Basketball team couldn’t keep pace in an 89-77 loss against St. Cloud State on Senior Night in an NSIC game played at Lysaker Gymnasium in Crookston.
1st Half –
St. Cloud State started the game scoring the first five points to jump out to a 5-0 lead. Harrison Cleary (Sr., Oak Creek, WI) put Minnesota Crookston on the scoreboard with a jump shot before he buried a three-pointer bringing the Golden Eagles within 7-5. St. Cloud State responded with another 5-0 run before Ibu Jassey-Demba (Jr., Birmingham, UK) responded with five-straight points pulling UMC back within 12-10. St. Cloud State went on a 9-2 run halfway through the half to take a 24-15 lead with 11:44 left in the opening half. The Huskies and Golden Eagles continued trading baskets throughout the first half, but SCSU built up a ten-point lead with 6:25 to play in the opening half. Minnesota Crookston closed the half well with Malcolm Cohen (R-Sr., Detroit, MI) connecting on two straight three-pointers to end the first half with St. Cloud State leading 43-41. “Those two big threes to end the half was helpful,” explained UMC head coach Dan Weisse. “We contested shots at the rim. They had too many uncontested shots at the rim in the second half. That’s not a talent thing. We just need to do a better job of getting back on defense.”
2nd Half –
St. Cloud State opened the second half with a 7-2 run and never looked back. The Huskies at one point were shooting over 70% from the field in the second half, and Minnesota Crookston’s defense provided little resistance to St. Cloud State’s drives to the rim. Javier Nicolau (Sr., Castellon, Spain) scored a lay-up trimming UMC’s deficit down to 54-48, but the Huskies countered with a 6-0 run increasing their lead to 60-48. “They weren’t doing anything that I didn’t think we could control,” added Weisse. “It was as simple as them running the ball up the floor and our inability to stay in front of them. We ran back last week and played terrific defense. This weekend we just struggled to guard people.” Harrison Cleary tried keeping the Golden Eagles within striking distance connecting on a jump shot with 6:33 to play cutting Minnesota Crookston’s deficit down t 77-63, but St. Cloud State answered with a 7-0 run in under two minutes to gain an 84-63 lead. UMC’s last-ditch comeback bid wasn’t enough as St. Cloud State closed out an 89-77 win to spoil Minnesota Crookston’s senior night celebration. “It’s hard to beat teams when you’re giving up that kind of clip,” summarized Weisse. “It starts on the defensive end for us. Offensively, if you score 77, you should win most of those games. I just feel bad for our seniors. That’s not how we envisioned this weekend going. It’s a sour taste. With that in mind, our goal is to get to the Pentagon (where the NSIC Tournaments final rounds are hosted in Sioux Falls). To do that, we just have to win on Wednesday.”
Minnesota Crookston falls to 11-17 overall and 7-15 in conference play. The Golden Eagles begin the NSIC Tournament on Wednesday when UMC travels to Winona State for a 7:30 P.M. tip-off on KROX. St. Cloud State improves to 14-14 overall and 11-11 in the NSIC.
| 1 | 2 | Final | |
| St. Cloud State | 41 | 46 | 89 |
| Minnesota Crookston | 43 | 36 | 77 |
| UMC | Points | Rebounds | Assists/Steals |
| Harrison Cleary | 24 | 5 | 4 assists |
| Malcolm Cohen | 24 | 1 | |
| Quintin Winterfeldt | 10 | 2 | |
| Ibu Jassey-Demba | 9 | 7 | |
| Javier Nicolau | 4 | 2 | 4 blocks |
| Chase Johnson | 4 | 7 | |
| Tyrese Shines | 2 | 1 |
