Box Score ST. CLOUD, Minn. – The University of Minnesota, Crookston was unable to stop a hot-shooting St. Cloud State University squad led by Theo Rothstein's career-high 30 points as they fell 79-55 to the Huskies. The Golden Eagles fall to 3-4 (0-3 NSIC) while St. Cloud State improved to 6-0 (3-0 NSIC). Rothstein, the brother of Golden Eagle women's basketball player Carly Rothstein, was 12-of-15 from the field for the Huskies who shot 30-of-50 for 60.0 percent from the field for the game.

UMC was led on the game by Ashton Harrell (Jr., G, Houston, Texas), who led the Golden Eagles in scoring for the second time this season with 16 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field and 8-of-9 shooting from the charity stripe. Brandon Burns (Jr., F, Baton Rouge, La.) added 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field. The Golden Eagles finished the game shooting 18-of-40 for 45.0 percent for the contest. UMC out-rebounded St. Cloud State 24-23 for the game led by Burns' six boards. UMC was without starting point guard Almir Krdzalic (Sr., Sioux Falls, S.D.) for the second-consecutive game.

In addition to Rothstein's performance, the Huskies were aided by Kevin Levandoski and Damarius Cruz, each who tallied 11 points on the night. In addition to shooting 60.0 percent from the field, St. Cloud State was 10-of-19 for 52.6 percent from beyond the arc led by 3 three-pointers apiece from Cruz and Rothstein. Chris Larson led the Huskies on the boards with six.

The Golden Eagles started the first half going toe-to-toe with the ranked Huskies as they found themselves down 9-8 with 14:07 remaining in the opening period. St. Cloud State then went on a 10-0 run aided by five points from Rothstein, two from Connor Niehaus and two from Levandoski to make the score 18-8 with 11:54 left in the half. St. Cloud State would extend the lead to 24-13 before the Golden Eagles would mount a run of their own. UMC would out-score the Huskies 7-0 cutting the lead down to four points (24-20) at the 6:47 mark aided by two points apiece from Burns and Abdou Niang (Sr., F, Dakar, Senegal) and a three-pointer from Tim Lubke (So., G, St. Paul, Minn.).
 
The Huskies would then respond going on an 8-0 run beginning with a Jordan Poydras three-pointer, taking the lead 32-20 at the 3:39 mark.
 
The Golden Eagles attempted to cut into the Huskies lead Harrell finished the first half strong with seven points in the final three minutes beginning with an old fashioned three-point play at the 2:57 mark but they couldn't stop the Huskies on the defensive end. St. Cloud State went into the half with a 44-29 lead over UMC.
 
The Golden Eagles shot 10-of-23 for 43.5 percent in the first half and were 8-of-9 for 88.9 percent from the charity stripe. Harrell led UMC with 10 points on 2-of-3 shooting and 6-of-7 from the free-throw line. Burns chipped in six points for the Golden Eagles. UMC had nine turnovers in the first half. St. Cloud State out-rebounded the Golden Eagles 12-11 in the first half. UMC was led on the boards by Schmidt with four.
 
The Huskies shot 16-of-24 for  66.7 percent in the opening period led by Rothstein's 18 first-half points on 7-of-9 shooting. St. Cloud State was 5-of-9 from beyond the arc for 55.6 percent. Levandoski added seven points in the first half for the Huskies. They were led on the boards by Rothstein's three rebounds.
 
After trading baskets early in the second half, St. Cloud State extended their lead to 20 points (53-33) following a Cruz three and a Rothstein two. The Golden Eagles were down by 20 or more points for most of the second half but did make a run attempt with a 6-0 run to cut the SCSU advantage to 65-49 with 5:56 remaining. The run involved two made free throws from Burns, a made lay-up from Harrell and a converted lay-up from Schmidt. However, the Huskies were able to get the lead back out to 20 with just under five minutes left and they wouldn't look back from that point on as they defeated UMC 79-55.
 
The Golden Eagles will return home next weekend to host Minot State University Fri., Dec. 14 at 8 p.m. and University of Mary Sat., Dec. 15 at 6 p.m., as they look to get on a winning track.
 
 For more information, visit the Golden Eagle Athletics Web site at www.goldeneaglesports.com.

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The University of Minnesota, Crookston is an NCAA Division II Institution and a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). The Golden Eagle Equestrian team is a member of the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA).