Box Score CROOKSTON, Minn.- The University of Sioux Falls shot lights out from beyond the arc hitting 15 three-pointers on the night led by five treys from Bill Freeman off the bench as the Cougars downed the Golden Eagles 89-59 Friday night at Lysaker Gymnasium. The Golden Eagles struggled to get going offensively on the night scoring only 59 points. UMC remains winless in league play as they drop to 3-16 (0-15 NSIC). Sioux Falls improves to 8-11 (4-11 NSIC).
 
The Golden Eagles were led by Brandon Burns (Jr., F, Baton Rouge, La.), who scored the first seven points of the game for UMC en route to 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting. Ashton Harrell (Jr., G, Houston, Texas) also had a solid night with a season-high 17 points. If you look at the box score the Golden Eagles shot the ball well in most facets but struggled to get points on the night. UMC finished shooting 19-of-46 for 41.3 percent and were 6-of-13 for 46.2 percent from three-point range. James Sparkman (R-Jr., F, Ypsilanti, Mich.) added nine points and seven rebounds while Justin Rake (Sr., G, Petal, Miss.) finished with eight points.
 
UMC was out-muscled on the boards by the tune of 39 to 24 which included 19 offensive rebounds and 23 second-chance points for the Cougars. A.J. Holland led Sioux Falls in rebounds with seven on the night while Sparkman paced the Golden Eagles with seven, as well.
 
Sioux Falls finished the night shooting 36-of-70 for 51.4 percent and were hot from three-point range all night, especially in the first half as they connected on 8-of-12 attempts for 66.7 percent. USF would finish the night 15-of-31 for 48.4 percent from long range. The Cougars were paced by Freeman, who came off the bench for 19 points including going 5-of-7 from beyond the arc. Freeman, a transfer from University of Nebraska Omaha, came in averaging only 4.4 points per game but was shooting 44.4 percent from behind the three-point line.
 
Freeman was aided by three other players in double figures as Keaton Moffitt would come off the bench for 14. Holland finished with 12 while James Rader added 10 points.
 
The Golden Eagles got out to a 7-5 lead out of the gate as Burns couldn't miss early on for the Golden Eagles, connecting on his first four shots of the game. However, that would be the last lead UMC would hold and that came at the 16:18 mark of the game. UMC would be down only three, 14-11 at the 12:43 mark but that is when Freeman started making a noticeable impact for the recent addition to the NSIC. Freeman and Holland would hit treys to get Sioux Falls out to a 22-11 lead with 11:30 remaining.
 
UMC would cut it back down to seven but a 7-0 run which included another Freeman three would make it 35-20 Sioux Falls with 5:54 left in the first half. Two more threes from Freeman in the final five minutes of the opening period would help the Cougars get out to a 20 point advantage going into the locker room.
 
Out of the break, Sioux Falls was quickly able to use an eight-point run to get out to a 55-27 lead at the 17:16 mark. UMC finally ended their three-minute scoring drought as Sparkman connected on a jumper and made a free throw to complete a three-point play to cut it to a 25-point deficit. A Harrell lay-up would cut it to 23 points but Sioux Falls would go on another 8-0 run to lead by 31 (63-32) with 12:01 remaining. The Cougars would not look back as they would win by 30 points (89-59).
 
The Golden Eagles will return to the court against Southwest Minnesota State University tomorrow at 6 p.m. Tomorrow continues a weekend full of raising awareness for the harms of drunk driving with the NSIC's campaign “It's A Slam Dunk – Don't Drive Drunk”. The campaign came about after a drunk driver took the life of SMSU head coach Brad Bigler's infant son last summer.
 
 
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).