Box Score MANKATO, Minn. - The University of Minnesota Crookston battled back late, but ultimately fell 76-60 to No. 15 Minnesota State University, Mankato Wednesday at the Taylor Center in Mankato, Minn. The season ends for Minnesota Crookston in the first round of the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament. The Golden Eagles came into the tournament as the No. 8 seed in the NSIC North, while the Mavericks were the No. 1 seed in the NSIC South.

UMC falls to 4-23 overall on the season while Minnesota State improved to 26-4. The Mavericks now advance to face Augustana College at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. in the quarterfinals of the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament.

Minnesota Crookston was led on the game by Tyler West, Jr. (Jr., F, Portland, Ore./Communications), who had a double-double with 20 points and 11 boards. Brandon Burns (Sr., F, Baton Rouge, La./Sports and Rec Management) finished up his career with 11 points and seven boards. Burns was the lone active senior for UMC with Ashton Harrell (Sr., G, Houston, Texas/Sports and Rec Management) out for the year with a knee injury. Kevin Larson (Jr., G, New Ulm, Minn./Sports and Rec Management) chipped in eight points.

The Golden Eagles out-scored Minnesota State in the second half for the second time this season, winning the frame 37-34 after being down 42-23 at the half. Minnesota Crookston was 26-of-66 for 39.4 percent on the game and just 2-for-14 from the beyond the arc for 14.3 percent. UMC was 16-of-34 for 47.1 percent in the second half.

Minnesota State was led by 19 points on 6-of-17 shooting from the field from Tanner Adler. All of Adler's made field goals came from beyond the arc. Assem Marei added a double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds despite shooting just 5-of-13 from the field. Gage Wooten added a near double-double to round things out for the Mavericks with 14 points and nine boards.

Minnesota State was 28-of-66 for 42.4 percent for the game and 7-of-22 for 31.8 percent from beyond the arc. They shot 16-of-31 for 51.6 percent in the first half. The Mavericks out-rebounded UMC 47-36 led by the 12 boards from Marei.

The Golden Eagles were led in the first half by Burns, who tallied seven points and seven boards. Burns was 3-of-8 from the field. West chipped in seven points for the Golden Eagles. UMC was 10-of-32 for 31.3 percent from the field. The Golden Eagles were just 1-of-11 for 9.1 percent from beyond the arc.

Minnesota State was 16-of-31 for 51.6 percent from the field for the first half and 4-of-7 from beyond the arc. Marei led the team with 12 points and eight baords, while Adler chipped in nine points on three treys.

Minnesota Crookston came out of the gate Wednesday strong, scoring the first three baskets to jump out to a quick 6-0 lead on the No. 15 team in the nation. The Golden Eagles would be led by two quick buckets from Larson. UMC would extend their advantage to 10-4 on a pair of West free throws with 15:40 left in the first half.

From there, though Minnesota State would go on a 19-2 run led by the play of Adler and Marei, who each accounted for six points during the run. The Mavericks would have the advantage 23-12 after the run, with 9:26 left in the first half.

Tomas Parker (Jr., F/C, Pequot Lakes, Minn./Management) would get a lay-up to stop the run shortly, but Minnesota State would continue to control the pace, out-scoring UMC 19-9 for the remainder of the half to go into the locker room with the 42-23 advantage.

Minnesota Crookston would cut into the Minnesota State lead out of the gate, getting to within 16 points (44-28) on a Tim Lubke (Jr., G, St. Paul, Minn./Sports and Rec Management) three with 19:01 left in the game. But stands on the defensive end and converting big plays on the offensive end would help Minnesota State take control back, leading 55-31 with 15:25 left in the game.

The Golden Eagles would hold things steady for the next five minutes and would be able to cut the lead to 21 (61-40) as Burns converted an old-fashioned three-point play with 9:46 left in the game. The Golden Eagles would cut the lead to 20 on a West jumper in the lane to make it 62-42 with eight minutes left in Wednesday's contest. However, a made trey from Adler would catapult the Mavericks back out to a 23-point advantage over Minnesota Crookston.

The Golden Eagles would make a late run on th Mavericks. UMC would get to back to within 20 points after a West put-back and would cut even deeper as Derrick Redd, Jr. (So., G, Menifee, Calif./Sports and Rec Management) hit a fast break lay-up with 2:50 remaining to make it 71-55. After a Minnesota State basket to push it out to 73-55, West would hit an old-fashioned three-point play to cut it to 73-58 with two minutes left in the game. A Burns fastbreak lay-up would cut it to 73-60 with under a minute remaining in the game. An Adler three would ice the win for Minnesota State, making the final 76-60 over the Golden Eagles.

UMC loses just Burns and Harrell off the current roster returning a solid core of contributors including West, Jr. and Redd who were key cogs in UMC's offense this season. Minnesota Crookston also returns junior John Hughes (So., F, Tualatin, Ore.) who has a lot of starting experience, along with senior-to-be point guard Larson. Several other players who showed marked improvement will also be back in the fray for the Golden Eagles for the 2014-15 season.

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).