CROOKSTON, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Crookston men's basketball team shot 48.4 percent from the field but a 33-13 run to end the game led No. 7 Minnesota State University Moorhead led the Dragons to a 106-79 win.

The Golden Eagles fall to 3-14 (1-12 NSIC) on the season, while No. 7 MSU Moorhead improved to 20-2 (12-1 NSIC) with Friday's win.

"MSU Moorhead is a good defensive team," Weisse said. "It makes me look good as a coach when we make a lot of shots like we did tonight and were able to break down a strong defense at times. When we do things how we are capable of doing them it makes it a lot harder on MSU Moorhead. We were able to do that at times tonight, but they are a team that score in a hurry and they did that."

Minnesota Crookston was led by a strong performance from Kobe Critchley (Fr., G, Roseville, Minn./Health Science), who had 20 points on 8-of-13 from the field and 3-of-5 beyond the arc. Critchley played perhaps his best game of his young career against a strong MSU Moorhead team. In addition to Critchley, C.J. Polk (So., G, Milwaukee, Wis./Business Management) had 14 points on 5-of-10 from the field. Derrick Redd, Jr. (Sr., G, Menifee, Calif./Sports and Rec Management) had 13 points.

The Golden Eagles shot 30-of-62 for 48.4 percent as they had one of their strongest offensive nights of the season. UMC was 11-of-24 for 45.8 percent from beyond the arc and 8-of-10 for 80 percent from the charity stripe.

MSU Moorhead had six players score in double-figures led by a banner night from bench player Ayob Ayob, who had 23 points on 8-of-12 from the field and 6-of-6 from beyond the arc. Isaac Sevlie added 25 points and six boards. The Dragons also got 15 from Aaron Lien, 12 from Ngijol Songolo and 11 from Tyler Vaughan. Point guard Tanner Kretchman was great facilitator for the Dragons, dishing out 13 assists and matching that with 13 points.

"They are not a fun team to guard," said Head Coach Dan Weisse. "They have a point guard that runs the show in Tanner Kretchman and a guy at center in Isaac Sevlie that I think will be Player of the Year in the NSIC North. If you help off one guy they will find the next guy who will hit a shot. They have been playing together awhile so they make passes where you say 'how did you see that guy", but they get to spots and know where their teammates are going to be."

The Dragons were 36-of-58 for 62.1 percent, while going 14-of-20 for 70 percent from beyond the arc and 20-of-24 for 83.3 percent.

UMC got out of the gate strong and was able to build a six-point lead on the Dragons after Ben Grygiel (Jr., F, Rockford, Ill./Business Management) hit a three to make it 12-6.

After going back-and-forth early in the first half, the Dragons would take the lead for good as Evan Holt hit a jumper to make it 23-22. That would begin an 11-0 run in which MSU Moorhead would extend their lead to 32-22 with 7:39 left in the opening period.

The Dragons would extend their first-half lead to as many as 12 following a Vaughan three at the 4:48 mark. However, UMC would make a charge cutting the lead to six on a pair of Nate Lorenz (Fr., F/C, Breckenridge, Minn./Health Science) free throws.

MSU Moorhead would extend their lead to 54-42 heading into the break following a pair of treys from Ayob and Songolo.

The Dragons would get their lead out to 17 at the 17:46 mark following a Songolo lay-in. However, UMC would make a charge going on a 13-2 run led by three-pointers from Redd, Polk and Critchley.

UMC would hang in there, keeping the deficit at seven following a Redd lay-up at the 10:50 mark. That is when the Dragons would strike as they used a quick 8-0 run to get their lead out to 15. MSU Moorhead would extend their run, out-scoring UMC 33-13 for the last 10 minutes as they picked up the win.

The Golden Eagles will look to get back on a winning track as they host Northern State University Sat., Jan. 23 at 6 p.m. at Lysaker Gymnasium.

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 a NCAA Division II university located in the Red River Valley of Northwest Minnesota. UMC sponsors 11 intercollegiate athletic teams with membership in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate conference (NSIC) and the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA). The NSIC is a 16-team conference with schools situated in Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota and Nebraska.
-30-