Late in the second half, Harrison Cleary (Sr., Oak Creek, WI) made a free-throw for his 1,933 career point in NSIC play, a new conference record, but Minnesota Crookston men’s basketball lost to Southwest Minnesota State 77-63 in an NSIC game played at Lysaker Gymnasium.
First Half –
Harrison Cleary opened the scoring with a jump shot 13-seconds into the game, giving Minnesota Crookston a quick 2-0 lead. Ibu Jassey-Demba (Jr., Birmingham, UK) extended the Golden Eagles lead to 5-2 with a three-pointer before Malcolm Cohen (R-Sr., Detroit, MI) scored a lay-up through a foul, sinking the free-throw to give UMC a 9-4 lead. Jassey-Demba followed that up with another three-pointer pushing Minnesota Crookston out to a 12-4 lead. After Southwest Minnesota State pulled within 12-8, Brian Sitzmann (R-Soph., Savage) made a three-pointer reestablishing a 15-8 lead. SMSU responded with a 6-0 run to pull within 15-14. The Mustangs took a 25-22 lead with 7:38 to play in the first half before Ibu Jassey-Demba made another three-pointer tying the game at 25-25. Trailing 33-29, UMC went on a 7-0 run to take a 36-33 lead before Cleary made a step-back three-pointer going into halftime with the Golden Eagles leading 39-34.
Second Half –
Brian Sitzmann made a three-pointer with 18:49 to play in the second half as Minnesota Crookston’s lead grew to 42-36. The Golden Eagles wouldn’t score again until there was 10:37 to play. Southwest Minnesota State went on a 21-0 run over eight minutes to take a 57-42 lead. Minnesota Crookston failed to close within single-digits the rest of the night. Harrison Cleary made a free-throw after he was fouled, scoring a lay-up with 0:54 to play to secure the senior’s 1,933 point in conference play, establishing a new NSIC career scoring record, but the celebration was muted as the Mustangs closed out a 77-63 win. “I really thought we made some positive adjustments,” said Weisse. “What I didn’t expect was all of the turnovers, which led to some easy baskets for them. It really is a bitter-sweet deal. I don’t want a loss to take away from Harrison’s accomplishment, but our job is to win basketball games. We didn’t get the job done, and that’s tough. I’m pumped he got the record, but now we have to move forward. Every shot he makes from this point forward sets a new record.”
Despite the unfavorable final score, Weisse still was able to appreciate his senior point guard’s accomplishment, “it’s such a testament to his hard work,” added Weisse. “His work ethic is second to none. As I said to the UMC fans in the hallway (where fans celebrated Cleary’s record with cake), his work ethic is second to none and now his scoring is second to none in the NSIC.”
Cleary was appreciative of all the components of his now record-breaking career, “it means a lot,” said Cleary. “Nobody has done this before, and I believe I did this in the least amount of games as well. It’s a testament to the hard work I put in, and I owe a huge thank you to my coaches and my teammates as well. I also really appreciate the community of Crookston. None of this is possible without all of them.”
Minnesota Crookston drops to 9-12 overall and 5-10 in NSIC play. The Golden Eagles return to the court on Saturday when UMC hosts Sioux Falls at 5:30 P.M. Southwest Minnesota State improves to 7-14 overall and 4-11 in conference play.
| 1 | 2 | Final | |
| Southwest Minnesota State | 34 | 43 | 77 |
| Minnesota Crookston | 39 | 24 | 63 |
| UMC | Points | Rebounds | Assists/Steals |
| Harrison Cleary | 29 | 1 | |
| Ibu Jassey-Demba | 9 | 4 | |
| Malcolm Cohen | 8 | 7 | 3 steals |
| Brian Sitzmann | 8 | 1 | |
| Chase Johnson | 4 | 6 | |
| Quintin Winterfeldt | 3 | 1 | |
| Javier Nicolau | 2 | 1 |
Harrison Cleary’s NSIC Record-Setting Shot
