Box Score MOORHEAD, Minn. – 21 points from Anthony Tucker 10 converted three-pointers led the Minnesota State University Moorhead Dragons, who came into the night tied for the lead in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) North Division, past the University of Minnesota, Crookston Golden Eagles 71-66 Friday night at Alex Nemzek Hall in Moorhead, Minn. The Golden Eagles fall to 3-7 (0-6 NSIC) while MSU Moorhead improves to 11-1 (5-1 NSIC). The only loss for the Dragons came at the hands of Northern State University Dec. 1.

The Golden Eagles were led by three players who tallied double figures on the night paced by 15 points apiece from seniors Justin Rake (G, Petal, Miss.) and Broderick Schmidt (F, Marion, S.D.). Schmidt had a near double-double with nine boards on the night. Rake put in three treys on the night. Brandon Burns (Jr., F, Baton Rouge, La.) chipped in 14 points to round out UMC's double-figure scorers on the night. UMC finished the game shooting 27-of-62 for 43.5 percent and were 9-of-17 for 52.9 percent from beyond the arc. They out-rebounded the Dragons 35-27 on the night and only had 10 turnovers for the night.

MSU Moorhead was paced by Tucker's 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field with four made three-pointers. Alex Novak added 17 points and eight rebounds for the Dragons while Tyler Vaughan had 14 points including four treys. MSU Moorhead finished the game shooting 24-of-46 for 52.2 percent and 10-of-23 for 43.5 percent from beyond the arc.

UMC and MSU Moorhead would play a highly contested first half. The Golden Eagles got out to as much as a five-point lead in the opening half at the 6:30 mark (23-18) but right after securing that lead the Dragons struck as Brady Wohler hit back-to-back treys to give MSU Moorhead the 24-23 advantage with 5:11 left in the half. The Golden Eagles would take the lead back at the 2:15 mark as Rake hit a jumper but the Dragons would again take the lead back following a three from Tucker. MSU Moorhead would go into the break with a 28-25 advantage over UMC.

Burns and Rake led the Golden Eagles with eight points apiece in the opening half. UMC shot 11-of-25 for 44.0 percent in the opening period and were 2-of-6 from beyond the arc. UMC had only five turnovers to MSU Moorhead's eight in the first half. The Dragons had a slight rebounding edge, 16-13, over the Golden Eagles. Ashton Harrell (Jr., G, Houston, Texas) chipped in five points off the bench for UMC.

Tucker paced MSU Moorhead in the first half with 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting including three converted three-pointers. Novak added seven points for the Dragons while Wohler chipped in six points. MSU Moorhead shot 10-of-22 for 45.5 percent and were 6-of-13 from beyond the arc for 46.2 percent. Novak led the Dragons on the boards with five.

MSU Moorhead would get out to an early eight-point advantage (35-27) with 18:36 left in the second half but the Golden Eagles would quickly dig into the lead beginning with a James Sparkman (R-Jr., F, Ypsilanti, Mich.) trey at the 17:41 mark. Rake would convert two free throws to cut the lead to three (35-32) and then Sparkman would add two points to cut the Dragon lead to 35-34 with 16:36 remaining. MSU Moorhead would counter with a Vaughan three but UMC would respond on the other end as Burns answered with a three of his own to cut it to a one-point MSU Moorhead advantage (38-37). The Dragons would again find themselves up three (42-39) after the two teams traded baskets but UMC would respond again as Schmidt got a tip-in for the Dragons but a three from Vaughan quickly gave MSU Moorhead a four-point advantage (45-41) with just under 13 minutes left. Yet another Vaughan trey would make it 48-41 with 12 minutes left in the game.

The Golden Eagles put up another comeback run using as Almir Krdzalic (Sr., G, Sioux Falls, S.D.) found the scoreboard for the first time with a three-pointer and then Schmidt used another tip-in to make it 48-46 with 11:10 remaining. MSU Moorhead quickly fought off the comeback using a quick Tucker lay-up and a Novak bucket to make it 52-46 with 10:15 left in the game. MSU Moorhead would then get the lead out to 11 points (64-53) with just over six minutes left. The Golden Eagles would make a late comeback attempt as they would cut the MSU Moorhead lead to three points (69-66) with 10 seconds left following a Rake three with 25 second left and a Tim Lubke (So., G, St. Paul, Minn.) trey with 10 seconds remaining but Jordan Riewer would hit two free throws as the Dragons would hold on for a 71-66 victory.

The Golden Eagles will trek to Northern State University for a NSIC battle in Aberdeen, S.D. tomorrow.
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).