MANKATO, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Crookston men's basketball team battled to the bitter end but Minnesota State University, Mankato would hold on for the 78-72 win at the Taylor Center in Mankato, Minn. The Golden Eagles fall to 3-13 (1-11 NSIC). Minnesota State would move to 12-5 (7-4 NSIC) with the victory.

"I was happy with how we competed," said Head Coach Dan Weisse. "We did a better job of getting bodies on guys. 13 offensive rebounds is a sign that our guys are listening with what we challenged them to do last night. We just need to take the next step and be able to execute for 40 minutes and come away with a win."

The Golden Eagles were led by three players in double-figures. C.J. Polk (So., G, Milwaukee, Wis./Business Management) led the way with 17 points and seven boards on 6-of-15 from the field and 4-of-5 from the charity stripe. Kobe Critchley (Fr., G, Roseville, Minn./Health Science) addd 13 points, while Gable Smith (R-Fr., F, Lodi, Wis./Business Management) had 11 points on 5-of-7 from the field.

The Golden Eagles were 26-of-66 for 39.4 percent from the field and were 9-of-22 for 40.9 percent from beyond the arc. UMC was 11-of-17 for 64.7 percent from the charity stripe.

Minnesota State was led by five players in double figures. Joey Witthus had 19 points and six rebounds. Lucas Brown and Jalen Pendleton each added 14, while Jon Fuqua had 11 points and eight boards and T.J. Lake had 10.

The Mavericks would go 25-of-47 from the field for 53.2 percent from the field and were 6-of-12 for 50 percent from beyond the arc. Minnesota State was 22-of-31 for 71 percent from the charity stripe.

UMC would hang with the Mavericks early taking a lead 19-18 with 8:30 left in the first following an A.J. Walton (R-Fr., G/F, Oak Hills, Calif./Sports and Rec Management) lay-up. The Mavericks would take lead over and would get it out to 25-21 on a Witthus trey. UMC would be able to knot up the game 28-28 on a pair of free throws. The Mavericks would end the half on a 7-0 run.

The Golden Eagles went into the break down 35-28 as they fought hard against the Mavericks. The Golden Eagles were led by a strong first half from Polk, who had 12 points on 4-of-9 from the field. Derrick Redd, Jr. (Sr., G, Menifee, Calif./Sports and Rec Management)  added five for UMC. The Golden Eagles were 11-of-33 for 33.3 percent from the field and 3-of-10 for 30 percent from beyond the arc.

Minnesota State was led by 11 points by freshman Joey Witthus, who was 4-of-6 from the field and 2-of-4 from beyond the arc. Jalen Pendleton and T.J. Lake each had eight points from the Mavericks. Minnesota State was 13-of-23 for 56.5 percent from the field and 3-of-6 for 50 percent from beyond the arc.


Minnesota State would extend their lead to 10 (39-29) early in the second half on a Witthus lay-up. UMC would keep trying to make a dent in the lead but the Mavericks would be able to get the lead out to 11 following an Alex Herink lay-up with 13:40 remaining. They would extend their lead to 13 at the 12:37 mark on a Witthus three.

The Golden Eagles would make a run at the Mavericks, cutting the lead to 58-51 on a Walton bucket, but Minnesota State would respond as Okaford went 1-of-2 from the charity stripe to extend the lead to eight. But UMC would respond as Critchley would respond with a three to cut the deficit to 59-54 with 7:15 remaining.

Minnesota State would again come up with the big shot as Lucas Brown hit the lay-up to make it 61-54. Smith would look to respond as he nailed the three to cut the deficit back down to 61-57, but Witthus matched him with a trey of his own to make it 64-57.

The Mavericks would extend their lead to 70-57 on a 6-0 run. UMC would look to battle as Ben Grygiel (Jr., F, Rockford, Ill./Business Management) hit a three with four minutes remaining to cut the lead to 70-62. After a defensive stop, Grygiel would be fouled and would hit a pair of free throws to cut the lead to 70-64.
Minnesota State would again respond as Pendleton hit an old-fashioned three-point play to extend the lead to 73-64. UMC would respond as Walton got an old-fashioned three-point play of his own to cut it to 73-67.

Brown would hit a pair of free throws to extend the lead to 75-67 with 1:10 remaining. A three from Critchley would cut the lead for Minnesota State to 75-70. On the defensive end, Xavier Hall (Jr., G, Woodbury, Minn.) would draw the charge, giving the ball back to UMC. Grygiel would miss his opportunity on the UMC end. The Golden Eagles would foul Pendleton, who would look to ice the game with a pair of free throws. Critchley would hit a pair of free throws to cut the lead to 77-72 with 10.4 seconds left. Brown would hit 1-of-2 to put Minnesota State up 78-72. UMC would miss their opportunity as the Mavericks would hang on.

The Golden Eagles will return to action as they face Minnesota State University Moorhead Fri., Jan. 22 at 8 p.m. and Northern State University Sat., Jan. 23 at 6 p.m.