CROOKSTON, Minn. - The University of Minnesota Crookston men's basketball team will hit the road for their first Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) road series of the 2015-16 campaign. The Golden Eagles come into the weekend with a 2-3 mark in Head Coach Dan Weisse's second season leading the team. The Golden Eagles will take on 4-2 Minnesota Duluth Fri., Dec. 4 at 8 p.m. and then will take on the 2-4 St. Cloud State Huskies Sat., Dec. 5 at 6 p.m.

Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles
Head Coach: Dan Weisse
Record at UMC: 9-23 Season at UMC: Second Season

Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs
Head Coach: Matt Bowen
Record at UMD: 40-50 Season at UMD: Fourth Season

St. Cloud State Huskies
Head Coach: Matt Reimer
Record at SCSU: 20-16 Season at BSU: Second Season

Dec. 4 • Duluth, Minn. • Romano Gymnasium • 8 p.m.
Minnesota Crookston at Minnesota Duluth
Video: http://neo-client.stretchinternet.com/client/umd.portal
Live Stats: http://neo-client.stretchinternet.com/client/umd.portal
Dec. 5 • St. Cloud, Minn. • Halenbeck Hall • 6 p.m.
Video: http://portal.stretchinternet.com/scsu/
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/stcloudstate/mbball/
Radio: 1260 KROX AM/105.7 FM (Matt Bishop, Play by Play)
Online Radio: www.kroxam.com


#5StoryLines
1. Can Derrick Redd, Jr. help lead the Golden Eagles to a pair of wins?

2. What newcomer or pair of newcomers will step up for the Golden Eagles?

3. Who will shut down St. Cloud State
shooter Gage Davis and Minnesota Duluth shooter Taylor Lavery?

4. Can Jim Warmack build on his solid game against Bemidji State?

5. Who will make the big plays down the stretch to help UMC win?



#Tidbits

- The UMC men's basketball team is 2-3 to start the season but could just as easily be 4-1 if certain plays down the stretch would have gone differently against Bemidji State and Wisconsin-River Falls. The Golden Eagles will look to get a couple of wins as they take on University of Minnesota Duluth and St. Cloud State University this weekend.

- The Golden Eagles last defeated Minnesota Duluth Dec. 6, 2013 in an 87-85 win at home. They have lost the last three and will look to get back on a winning track this weekend. UMC picked up a win over St. Cloud State 99-85 at home last season but lost on the road. They will look to get the road win over the Huskies Saturday.

- UMC's defense has limited opponents to just 68.6 points per game this season, while shooting 43.4 percent from the field and 37.8 percent from beyond the arc. The place opponents have won the battle considerably is on the boards, where they have out-rebounded the Golden Eagles 38.2-30.6.

- The Golden Eagles have dramatically improved their three-point shooting this season, going 40.0 percent from beyond the arc, led by 61.9 percent from Ben Grygiel and 52.6 percent from Derrick Redd, Jr.
Chase Knickerbocker has also been solid, shooting 37.5 percent.

- UMC is starting four players that have only played five games as members of the Golden Eagles. That has shown through some inconsistency, with several good moments but also some bad. The Golden Eagles have a strong core of freshman and junior college transfers but everyone will have to mature as the season moves forward.

- UMC is starting two freshman on their team currently. The class has been led by Nate Lorenz, who is averaging 7.2 points and 4.2 rebounds, while Kobe Critchley is averaging 6.6 points and 2.4 assists per game.

- Minnesota Duluth is in their fourth season under Matt Bowen, who has hovered around the .500 mark at
Minnesota Duluth in his four seasons after leaving Bemidji State following an NSIC Championship. The Bulldogs are very senior-laden on the 2015-16 season, though all four senior starters are junior college transfers.

- UMD is led by senior shooter Taylor Lavery, who is averaging 18.2 points per game, while shooting 50 percent from beyond the arc. In addition to Lavery, they have gotten solid play from senior Pierre Newton with 18.0 points and 7.8 rebounds per game, while another senior Brendon Pineda is averaging 13.3 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.

- The Bulldogs have a few strong shooters, led by Lavery, but have been held to 31.3 percent from beyond the arc on the season. They have hung with most teams on the boards, losing the battle by just 37.2 to 37.0. They have been led by Newton, while Pineda is chipping in 5.2 per game.

- St. Cloud State has gone 2-4 on the season and they are filled with new faces, mostly junior college transfers and Division I transfers. The Huskies have been led so far by Gage Davis, an IPFW transfer, who is averaging 17.0 point and 5.5 rebounds and shooting 56.3 percent from beyond the arc. In addition, returnee Scottie Stone is averaging 16.0 points, while transfer Mark Hall is averaging 12.0 points and 3.3 rebounds.

- The Huskies are in their second season under Matt Reimer, who was a long time assistant coach at St. Cloud State prior to his promotion.

- St. Cloud State is shooting 37.1 percent from beyond the arc. They are out-rebounding their foes by the tune of 36.7 to 29.5 led by Davis' 5.5 rebounds per game, while Nebojsa Stanojevic is averaging 4.7 rebounds per game.