WAYNE, Neb.– The University of Minnesota Crookston men's basketball team charted back-to-back Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference wins with a 61-57 win over Wayne State College (Neb.) Friday in Wayne, Neb. The win over the Wildcats marks the programs first win over Wayne State since Dec. 18, 2010, when UMC won 55-54.
The victories over Wayne State and St. Cloud State mark the first time since Feb. 12 and 18, 2005 that the Golden Eagles have earned back-to-back conference wins. Those victories came against Wayne State and Minnesota State University Moorhead.
The Golden Eagles improve to 4-4 (2-2 NSIC) with the win. The victory ties UMC's total wins from the last two seasons and surpasses their conference win total from the past two seasons. UMC is in their first season under
Dan Weisse as head coach and have already started to show signs of a program turnaround in the infancy of the Weisse era.
Minnesota Crookston was led on the game by
Kevin Larson (Sr., G, New Ulm, Minn./Sports and Rec Management), who put up his best performance of the 2014-15 season thus far with 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field and 2-of-4 from beyond the arc. In addition to Larson,
Tyler West, Jr. (Sr., G/F, Portland, Ore./Communications) continued his strong play of late with his third double-double of the season, securing 14 points and 14 rebounds. West is averaging 16.8 points and 10.8 rebounds over the last six games for the Golden Eagles, in which the Golden Eagles are 4-2.
Tim Lubke (Sr., G, St. Paul, Minn./Sports and Rec Management) came off the bench for 11 points, including going 3-of-5 from beyond the arc.
The Golden Eagles were 21-of-49 for 42.9 percent from the field and 9-of-19 for 47.4 percent from beyond the arc, continuing on their strong three-point shooting from the St. Cloud State game.
Wayne State was led by 14 points and eight rebounds from center Patrick Kurth. Jamie Pearson and Joel Heesch each added 13 points. The Wildcats were 22-of-52 for 42.3 percent from the field and 2-of-11 for 18.2 percent from beyond the arc.
The two teams would go into the half knotted up at 30-30. UMC would be up by as many as eight points with 7:55 left following a Lubke three. However, the Wildcats would close the gap led by the play of Kurth.
Out of the break, UMC would go on a 15-4 run to take a 45-34 lead with 14:04 remaining following a Larson lay-in. The Golden Eagles would hold on to a double-digit advantage until the five minute mark when Wayne State would start to make a late charge. A Pearson trey with 1:46 remaining would pull the Wildcats within three-points, however
Derrick Redd, Jr. (Jr., G, Menifee, Calif./Sports and Rec Management) quickly countered with a three of his own as the Golden Eagles would hang on for the 61-57 win over Wayne State.
The Golden Eagles will take on No. 18 Augustana College (S.D.) as they look for their third-consecutive conference win.
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).
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