UMC MEN’S BASKETBALL DROPS TIGHT GAME AT NORTHERN STATE

Minnesota Crookston Men’s Basketball was unable to tie the game in the final seconds of a 72-70 loss to Northern State in an NSIC game played at Wachs Arena in Aberdeen, South Dakota.

Chase Knickerbocker (Sr., Annandale) opened the game with a three-pointer for Minnesota Crookston giving the Golden Eagles a 3-0 lead. Following a Northern State three-pointer, Knickerbocker scored a mid-range jump shot to push the visitors ahead 5-3. Northern State responded with a 5-0 run to take an 8-5 lead before Josh Collins (Sr., Minneapolis) made a jumper to pull UMC within one before Malcolm Cohen (R-Jr., Detroit, MI) knocked down a jump shot giving Minnesota Crookston a 9-8 lead. The Wolves countered with a 7-0 run before a Cohen three-pointer trimmed UMC’s deficit down to 15-12 with 13:23 left in the first half. An 8-0 run gave Northern State a 26-15 lead halfway through the first half before a Ben Juhl (Soph., Clive, IA) jump shot sparked a 5-0 run bringing the Golden Eagles within 26-20. Trailing 31-20, Ben Juhl made jump shot followed by a three-pointer from Harrison Cleary to begin a 7-0 run cutting the deficit down to 31-27 with 2:22 left in the half. Northern State closed the half with a jumper giving the Wolves a 34-29 halftime lead. “They had way too many points early,” said UMC head coach Dan Weisse. “We really clamped down in the last ten minutes of the first half. The first ten they were doing what they wanted to do, but our defense kept us in the game.”

A quick 5-0 early in the second half brought the Golden Eagles within 36-34. With 17:27 remaining, Ben Juhl made a three-pointer through a foul adding the free-throw to tie the game at 38-38. Trailing 42-38, Minnesota Crookston used a 9-0 run capped off by five-straight points from Malcolm Cohen pushing the Golden Eagles ahead 47-42. After Northern State pulled within 49-47, Harrison Cleary answered with five-straight point giving UMC a 54-47 lead with 10:31 left to play. With Minnesota Crookston leading 59-51 with 8:31 to play, Northern State used a 7-1 run to pull within 60-58 with 6:57 to play. Harrison Cleary connected on a jump shot with 5:41 to play giving the Golden Eagles a 66-61 lead. Northern State answered with a 6-1 run tying the game at 67-67 with 3:33 remaining. After a pair of Harrison Cleary free-throws with 3:09 remaining gave the Golden Eagles a 69-67 lead, Minnesota Crookston’s offense went cold. Northern State tied the game with 1:09 remaining after a pair of free-throws before a jump shot through a foul with 20-seconds remaining gave Northern State a 71-69 lead. The free-throw was converted giving the hosts a 72-69 lead. UMC missed a lay-up to pull within one with 12-seconds left, but Northern State missed both bonus free-throws with 10-seconds left keeping Minnesota Crookston within 72-69 with 10-seconds. After the second missed free-throw, Malcolm Cohen secured the rebound and was fouled immediately. He missed both free throws, but Chase Knickerbocker secured the offensive rebound and kicked a pass out to Josh Collins who missed a tying three-pointer with 3-seconds remaining. “I’m kicking myself,” said Weisse. “We had an offensive rebound, we probably needed to call a timeout. I needed to let the guys know to call timeout. We got a look, but it was not the one we wanted by any means. That’s what I’ll be kicking myself over tonight.” Ben Juhl was shoved under the basket going after the offensive rebound earning Juhl a trip to the free-throw line. Juhl made the first free throw cutting the deficit down to 72-70 with 2-seconds left. Juhl intentionally missed the second free throw hoping for a tip-back to tie the game, but the ball bounced off the rim into the corner as the final horn sound and Northern State survived for a 72-70 win. “I told the guys that if we have the mindset, we’re not going to win every game, but we can win every game,” said Weisse. “It was a heck of a fight by our guys. This is a very good Northern State team, an excellent program. Our guys were one play away from winning the game, but we’ve got to play back-to-back because we’ve got another one tomorrow. I am proud of how our guys played but give or take one or two plays and we win the game. We were right there with a very good basketball team on the road.”

UMC falls to 10-7 overall and 4-5 in the NSIC. The Golden Eagles return to the court on Saturday at MSU-Moorhead beginning at 5:30 p.m. on KROX. Northern State improves to 12-3 overall and 8-1 in conference play.