CROOKSTON, Minn.– The University of Minnesota Crookston fell 80-73 to Minot State University Saturday at Lysaker Gymnasium. The Golden Eagles battled late, out-scoring Minot State 59-52 in the second half, but would score just 14 points in the first half after shooting just 5-of-27 for 18.5 percent, digging themselves into too deep of a whole.

The Golden Eagles were led on the night by Derrick Redd, Jr. (Jr., G, Menifee, Calif./Sports and Rec Management), who had 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field. Kevin Larson (Sr., G, New Ulm, Minn./Sports and Rec Management) came up with a near double-double of 13 points and nine rebounds with three assists. Jim Warmack (Fr., F/C, East Grand Forks, Minn./Management) would come off the bench for 10 points, while Tim Lubke (Sr., G, St. Paul, Minn./Sports and Rec Management) had nine points.

The Golden Eagles would finish the game 26-of-62 for 41.9 percent and 10-of-34 for 29.4 percent.

Minot State had four players score in double-figures. Lamont Prosser led the way with a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Everett Robinson also had 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field. Tyler Rudolph came off the bench for 13 points and seven rebounds, while Dominique McDonald had 12 points and six assists.

The Beavers were 31-of-57 for 54.4 percent from the field and just 1-of-12 for 8.3 percent from beyond the arc.

Minot State would race out to a 28-14 lead at the break. The Beavers opened the game on a 7-0 run and would out-score UMC 20-6 in the first 10 minutes. The Golden Eagles would even things in the last 10 minutes of the half keeping with the Beavers 8-8.

UMC would come out of the break with some energy and would start making shots, but early on could not stop the Beavers. Minnesota Crookston was persistent in their efforts. Down 16 with 3:07 remaining, the Golden Eagles would get lay-ups from Redd and Larson to cut the advantage to 67-55 with 2:17 remaining. Minot State's McDonald would make it 69-55 with 2:08 remaining.

Three-pointers from Redd and Lubke would quickly cut the deficit to eight with 1:31 remaining. After a pair of Tyler Rudolph free throws, Warmack would score on a put-back to cut the lead to 71-63 with 1:06 left.
McDonald would sink two more free throws to make it 73-63 with 59 seconds left. However, a Lucas Reller (Sr., G, Lead, S.D./Management) trey would make it 73-66 with 45 seconds left.


Winston Williams would make 1-of-2 to make it 74-66 with eight seconds left. After Warmack made a pair of free throws on the other end, it was 74-68 with 35 second left.

Williams would go 1-of-2 again on the end end, followed by a Redd fast-break dunk to cut the lead to 75-70. However, that is as close as UMC would get as Minot State closed out the win.

Minnesota Crookston will hit the road for a pair of NSIC tilts next weekend as they take on St. Cloud State University Jan. 9 and University of Minnesota Duluth Jan. 10. UMC defeated the Huskies earlier this season, but fell to Minnesota Duluth.
 
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).