Box Score Post-Game Interview with Jeff Oseth

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - The University of Minnesota Crookston fell just short of an upset bid falling 75-73 to University of Sioux Falls Friday night at the Stewart Center in Sioux Falls, S.D. The Golden Eagles had a chance to tie things up as Tim Lubke (Jr., G, St. Paul, Minn./Sports and Rec Management) was fouled on a three-point attempt giving him three shots at the charity stripe. Lubke made the first, but missed the second, causing him to purposely miss the third to give UMC one final shot attempt. USF came away with the rebound and held on for the win.

The Golden Eagles came close but fall to 4-15 (1-14 NSIC) as they drop their 13th-straight. Sioux Falls improves to 10-9 (7-8 NSIC) with Friday's win.

Minnesota Crookston had a balanced scoring effort Friday night led by a near double-double from Tyler West, Jr. (Jr., F, Portland, Ore./communications) with 16 points and nine boards. Brandon Burns (Sr., F, Baton Rouge, La./Sports and Rec Management) added 15 points and seven boards while Lubke added 14 points, including going 4-of-5 from beyond the arc.

The Golden Eagles shot 28-of-55 for 50.9 percent putting up one of their strongest shooting performances on the year. They were 7-of-13 for 53.8 percent from three-point range led by Lubke. Where UMC struggled was at the charity stripe where they were just 10-of-18 for the game.

UMC out-rebounded USF on the game 35-33.

Sioux Falls was led by their bench. The Cougars had 49 points off the bench. UMC held the USF starters at bay as they accounted for just 26 points. USF was led by Derek Brown's 22 points, including going 5-of-8 from beyond the arc. Robert Goffney added 17 points. USF was 24-of-58 for 41.4 percent and 11-of-25 for 44.0 percent from three-point range.

The Golden Eagles put up perhaps their best first half of the season as they went into the break with a 34-33 advantage on the Cougars. Burns paced the UMC attack with 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field. Kevin Larson (Jr., G, New Ulm, Minn./Sports and Rec Management) added five points, four rebounds and three assists in the first frame. Lubke added silky smooth shooting off the bench with six points on 2-of-3 shooting from distance.

Minnesota Crookston was 13-of-29 for 44.8 percent from the field and 5-of-9 for 55.6 percent from three-point range in the first half.

Sioux Falls was led by 10 points off the bench from Brown. The Golden Eagles held the USF starting line-up to just 13 points in the first half. Sioux Falls shot 13-of-32 for 40.6 percent from the field and 4-of-12 for 33.3 percent from three-point range.

Minnesota Crookston came out of the gate and got the early 5-2 lead led by an early Burns three. The Golden Eagles would find themselves up 13-7 at the 14:25 mark following a Tomas Parker (Jr., F/C, Pequot Lakes, Minn./Management) bucket. The Cougars would knot things up at 13-13 after a Goffney three at the 13:27 mark. Sioux Falls would extend their advantage to 18-13 following a Brown three.

However, the Golden Eagles wouldn't let down as they went on a 11-0 run spearheaded by the hand of Lubke from long distance with two made threes. UMC would hold the lead at 24-18 with 9:53 left in the first half.

The Cougars would counter with a 9-2 run of their own finished by a Cutler Finneman lay-in as they took the lead 27-26 with 7:11 remaining in the period. They would extend their run to 11-2 to make it 29-26.

UMC would take the lead back 30-29 following a pair of Burns free throws at the 5:41 mark. UMC would hold the one-point advantage at 34-33 going into the locker room.

The Golden Eagles would open the second frame on a 6-0 run with all the points scored by West as they took a 40-33 advantage early in the half.

Sioux Falls would cut it to 46-41 following a free throw from Jordan Stotts at the 15:12 mark in the second half.  Free throws from Mahlon Jones at the 14:57 mark to make it 46-43 Golden Eagles. A turnover on the sideline for UMC would give the ball back to the Cougars, where Mack Johnson would hit a three to knot things up at 46-46 at the 14:30 mark remaining in the game. Another pair of shots from the charity stripe for Jones would give the Cougars a 48-46 lead with 13:59 remaining in the game. One more free throw from Jones would extend the USF lead even further to 49-46 at the 13:07 mark.

A jumper in the lane from West would stop the run for USF as UMC cut it to 49-48. A big stop on the defensive end and a coast-to-coast drive from West with a put-back from Giorgi Koguashvili (Jr., G, Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia) gave the lead back to the Golden Eagles. Koguashvili would then drain two shots at the charity stripe as UMC found themselves with the 52-49 lead at the 11:00 mark.

A Jones three would knot things back up at 54-54 at the 8:29 mark for the Cougars. Jones would be a big presence early in the second half for Sioux Falls as he had six points in the first 12 minutes of the second frame.

A Burns put-back at the 8:00 mark would give UMC the lead back and from there the Golden Eagles and Cougars would exchange the lead several times with the Cougars going ahead 60-58 at the 6:40 mark. A Goffney three-point play would put USF up 63-58 with 6:13 remaining in the contest.

West would hit a crucial bucket on the other end to cut into the lead 63-60 with 5:38 left in the game. After USF extended their lead to 65-60, Redd would get a big lay-n to again cut it to 65-62 with 5:00 left. A crucial shot from Goffney would give the Cougars a 68-62 lead at the 4:20 mark. Lubke would respond with a big trey of his own for the Golden Eagles to make it 68-65 with 3:55 left in the game. A free throw from Brown would extend the USF advantage to 69-65 with 3:50 remaining in the contest.

A charge by the Cougars would give the ball to UMC where West hit a big jumper in the lane to cut it to 69-67 with 2:31 remaining. Two consecutive stops for the Golden Eagles would give the ball back to UMC with under two minutes left. A clutch three from Lubke on the wing at the 1:30 mark would make it 70-69.

Brown answered on the other end to make it 72-70 USF with 1:13 left in the game. A free throw Redd would cut it to 72-71 with 30 seconds remaining.

The Golden Eagles then sent Sioux Falls to the line where Brown hit 2-of-2 from the charity stripe to make it 74-71 with 22 seconds left. Lubke would hit a shot from the charity stripe for the Golden Eagles to cut it to 74-72 with 10 seconds left in the game.

Ward would hit one free throw for Sioux Falls to make it 75-72 with eight seconds left in the game.

Lubke would be fouled from beyond the arc, sending him to the line, where the junior would have the chance to knot it up if he hit all of his shots from the line. However, Lubke connected on just 1-of-3 as Sioux Falls hung on for the win 75-73.

The Golden Eagles will face Southwest Minnesota State University at 7 p.m. Sat., Feb. 1 in Marshall, Minn., as they look to get back in the winning column.

For more information, visit the Golden Eagle Athletics website 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).