The University of Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagle Men’s Basketball team played virtually even with the Wayne State College Wildcats for all 40 minutes of the contest, but a 3-pointer for the win fell just short and the Golden Eagles fell to the Wildcats 78-76 at the Lysaker Gymnasium on Friday night.
FIRST HALF –
Though the half ended up being very close, it certainly did not start out that way, as WSC started out hot, capitalizing on two different UMC turnovers and hitting from deep, leading them to an early 6-0 lead, and then a Cody McCollough fast break bucket gave the Wildcats an 11-4 lead. However, the Golden Eagles would quickly respond with effectiveness, as back-to-back 3’s from Reid Grant and Landon Dimler sparked an 8-0 run, giving UMC a 12-11 lead. From that point on, neither team had a lead larger than 3 for the remainder of the half. Both offenses went toe-to-toe from the field, with each team making 13 shots from the field, 4 shots from deep, and 8 free throws. The only slight edge for either side is that UMC committed more fouls, including big man Jordan Mitchell committing 3 in the first half, severely limiting his playing time. A foul also allowed WSC to tie the game, as two Matt Noll free throws tied the game at 38 heading into the half.
SECOND HALF –
UMC continued to press the offensive gas pedal in the second half. Reid Grant was the focal point of the offensive attack; after scoring 16 points in the first half, his 3-pointer kickstarted the scoring for the Golden Eagles. He was also a facilitator, making passes to Andrew Stokes and Caiden Swemby, all of this allowing the Golden Eagles to push all the way to a 54-46 lead, Grant with 24 points at this juncture. However, fouls continued to be an issue, as WSC was getting more free throw opportunities in an incredibly tightly called game. Then, after the Wildcats closed the gap to 60-58, a dead-ball technical foul on Micah Garrett allowed JJ Ferrin to tie the game at 60 points apiece. From there, the teams continued to go back and forth until a Grant layup gave him 30m points and UMC a 69-68 lead. As the game hit the final minutes, scoring began to slow down considerably. An Andrew Stokes layup tied the game at 71, but two more Moll free throws gave the Wildcats a 2-point lead. After another Moll bucket made it 75-73, and two more free throws made it 77-73, Grant hit a logo 3 with 6.7 seconds left to cut the lead to 1. On the inbound, an immediate foul was committed. One free throw was made, but the second one was no good. However, Grant’s shot at the horn was no good, and WSC held on for a 78-76 victory.
UMC falls to 3-16 on the season after the heartbreaker, 2-11 in the conference. WSC improves to 12-7, 6-7 in the conference.
To hear postgame comments from head coach Bryan Beamish, click below.
| 1st | 2nd | Final | |
| Minnesota Crookston | 38 | 38 | 76 |
| Wayne State | 38 | 40 | 78 |
| For UMC | Points | Rebounds | Assists/Steals/Blocks |
| Reid Grant | 35 | 7 | 2 assists/2 steals |
| Andrew Stokes | 16 | 2 | 1 assist |
| Micah Garrett | 10 | 1 | – |
| Caiden Swemby | 7 | 2 | – |
| Landon Dimler | 3 | 2 | – |
| Jordan Mitchell | 2 | 4 | 3 assists/2 blocks |
| Aguek Deng | 2 | 8 | 1 assist/2 blocks |
