Game Notes

Gameday Info

Away Team: University of Minnesota, Crookston (4-22, 1-21 NSIC)
Home Team: (7) Minnesota State University (22-4, 18-4 NSIC)
Date: Wed., Feb. 27
Time: 8 p.m.
Arena: Taylor Center, Mankato, Minn.
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/mnsu/mbball/scoreboard.aspx
Radio: KROX 1260 AM (Delayed, 9 p.m.)
Twitter: UMCAthletics
Facebook: Golden Eagle Sports

Quick Hits


•Cinderella Story
    It is not often that you see the team in last place in the division beat the first place team in the division, but that happened last weekend as the Golden Eagles downed No. 22 St. Cloud State University, the first-place team in the NSIC North, 80-77. It was the first NSIC win for UMC on the year and the first-ever victory for a Golden Eagle team over the Huskies. UMC will hope to ride a bit of that magic into the first round of the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament as they face No. 7 Minnesota State University, Mankato, the No.1-seed in the South Division.

• Taking Over
    Ashton Harrell is playing his best basketball at the right time right now, as are a lot of Golden Eagles as they are coming off one of their strongest weekends of the season after an upset of St. Cloud State and a close loss to University of Minnesota Duluth. Harrell scored a career-high 29 points as he took over the game against the Huskies. He followed that up with 15 points Saturday. Harrell is averaging 14.1 points per game in the last 11 for the Golden Eagles.


•Seniors Stepping Up
    There is no doubt that the four UMC seniors want to end their careers on a winning note after watching them play last weekend. The seniors (Almir Krdzalic, Abdou Niang, Justin Rake and Broderick Schmidt) were responsible for 34 points against St. Cloud State and stepped up even further against Minnesota Duluth as they scored 47-of-64 points on the game. Rake really stepped it up Friday in the upset against St. Cloud State as he had 17 points including two clutch free throws in the final minute of play. Krdzalic put on one of his finest games of the year against the Bulldogs with 20 points as did Schmidt, who tallied 12 points and seven rebounds while Niang had five points and six boards Saturday night. The Golden Eagle seniors will look to build off that performance against Minnesota State Wednesday.

The Scoop

    The University of Minnesota, Crookston will open up the first round of the NSIC/Sanford Health Men's Basketball Tournament against top-seed Minnesota State University, Mankato, who is currently ranked No. 7 in the nation.


Previewing the Golden Eagles
    Men
    The University of Minnesota, Crookston Golden Eagles are coming off one of their strongest weekends of the year as they upset No. 22 St. Cloud State University last Friday to end their 21-game losing streak and move to 4-22 (1-21 NSIC) on the year. The Golden Eagles have proven they can beat a top-team in the conference and will have to do so again versus Minnesota State Wednesday in order to advance in the tournament. The Golden Eagles have been guided of late by the play of junior college transfer Ashton Harrell (G, Houston, Texas). Harrell is averaging 9.9 points per game. Fellow junior college transplant Brandon Burns (F, Baton Rouge, La.) is adding 9.5 points per contest. Also watch out for the UMC seniors who were responsible for 47-of-64 points against
University of Minnesota Duluth Saturday. The Golden Eagles come into the weekend shooting 41.5 percent from the field and 33.5 percent from three. They are being out-rebounded by their opponents 32.7 to 28.7. The Golden Eagles had been led on the boards by James Sparkman (R-Jr., F, Ypsilanti, Mich.) with 4.9 rebounds per game. However, Sparkman will most likely miss the Minnesota State game due to a knee injury he sutffered against St. Cloud State last Friday. In his absence, Broderick Schmidt (Sr., F, Marion, S.D.) and Abdou Niang (Sr., F, Dakar, Senegal) will have to step up.

Previewing the Mavericks
    Men
    The Minnesota State University, Mankato Mavericks come into the weekend with a 22-4 (18-4 NSIC) record. The Mavericks are the top-seed in the NSIC South Division for the NSIC/Sanford Health Men's Basketball Tournament. Minnesota State is also currently ranked No. 7 in the nation. The Mavericks boast four NCAA Division I transfers on their roster. They have been led on the season by University of Wisconsin-Green Bay transplant
Jarvis Williams, who is averaging 14.1 points per game. He is joined by Cairo, Egypt native Assem Marei, who comes in averaging 13.2 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. South Dakota State University transfer Zach Monaghan has run the point this season for the Mavericks and is averaging 12.2 points and 5.9 assists per game. Minnesota State is shooting 49.1 percent from the field this season and 36.9 percent from three led by Texas-Pan American transfer Jaymeson Moten's 49.0 percent. The Mavericks are out-rebounding teams 38.0 to 28.6 this season.