Box Score MINOT, N.D. - The University of Minnesota Crookston men's basketball team played toe-to-toe for much of Friday night's game against Minot State University. However, their woes around the 10 minute mark of the second half continued as the Beavers controlled play late to take the game 78-59 over the Golden Eagles at the MSU Dome in Minot, N.D. The Golden Eagles drop their 11th-straight as they are now 4-13 (1-12 NSIC). Minot State improves to 7-10 (3-10 NSIC).

The Golden Eagles were led by Derrick Redd (So., G, Menifee, Calif./Sports and Rec Management), who has proven to be the go-to player for Minnesota Crookston, as of late, in the absence of the injured Ashton Harrell (Sr., G, Houston, Texas/Sports and Rec Management). Redd finished with 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field. Brandon Burns (Sr., F, Baton Rouge, La./Sports and Rec Management) added 12 points, while Kevin Larson (Jr., G, New Ulm, Minn./Sports and Rec Management), had 10 points and four steals.

The Golden Eagles were 20-of-52 from the field for 38.5 percent and just 2-of-16 for 12.5 percent from beyond the arc. They were out-rebounded 40-29 on the game. Both teams finished with 15 turnovers apiece.

The Minot State Beavers had a strong shooting night, finishing 27-of-54 for 50 percent, while they were 5-of-16 for 31.3 percent from behind the three-point line. The Beavers were paced by 16 points and nine boards from Samuel Johnson. Lazar Boskovic added 15 points and five rebounds, with four of those being offensive boards. E.J. Williams added 11 points. Dominique McDonald had five assists for the game.

The Beavers went into the break up 40-25 on the Golden Eagles. Minnesota Crookston took the early 5-2 advantage out of the gate against Minot State after a three from John Hughes (So., F, Tualatin, Ore./Management) and a two from Larson. After going toe-to-toe for the first five minutes of the game, the Beavers would get out to a 14-9 advantage after a illiams lay-in with 14:29 left in the half. After a Giorgi Koguashvili (Jr., G, Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia/Agricultural Business) free throw for UMC to cut it to 14-10, Minot State would go on a 6-0 run to get out to a 20-10 lead with 10:15 left in the half.

The Golden Eagles to get the deficit back down to seven points following a Burns lay-up with 6:31 left in the first half but a 7-0 run for Minot State led by a Williams trey would take the lead out to 14 at 32-18 with 4:47 remaining. The rest of the way, Minot State and UMC would play pretty much toe-to-toe as the Beavers would go into the locker room up 40-25.

Minnesota Crookston looked to cut into the Minot State lead from the on-set of the second half, as they out-scored the Beavers 8-2 in the first three minutes of the half to cut the lead to 42-33 using four points from Redd and four points from Larson. Minnesota Crookston would be able to cut it to an eight-point advantage after a pair of Kogaushvili free throws at the 13:56 mark of the second half.

An Isiah Gandy trey at the 12:19 mark would put the Beavers ahead 53-41, but UMC would not go away. An 8-2 run led by the play of Redd, would get the Golden Eagles to within six at 55-49 at the 10:12 mark.

But as has been the case as of late, the 10 minute mark of the second half for the Golden Eagles has proved to be a turning point of recent games. Starting with a pair of Boskovic free throws, Minot State would go on a 9-2 run to find themselves ahead 64-51 with 7:20 left in the game.

The Golden Eagles would get back to within 11 after a pair of Larson free throws with 6:20 left but the Beavers would go on another run. This time Minot State went on an 8-0 run as Minnesota Crookston did not score for nearly three minutes. The Beavers would lead by 19, following the scoreless streak. The Golden Eagles would cut the lead to 17, but that would be as close as they would get as Minot State won 78-59 over Minnesota Crookston.

The Golden Eagles will look to get back on a winning track as they head to face University of Mary at 6 p.m. Sat., Jan. 25 in Bismarck, N.D.

For more information, visit the Golden Eagle Athletics website at www.goldeneaglesports.com.

Follow the Golden Eagles on Facebook at Golden Eagle Sports and on Twitter at @UMCAthletics.

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).