CROOKSTON, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Crookston men's basketball team would not go away Saturday, but key free throws would propel St. Cloud State University to a narrow win 80-79 at Lysaker Gymnasium.

UMC would tie the game up 74-74 on a pair of C.J. Polk (So., G, Milwaukee, Wis./Sports and Rec Management) free throws, but Scottie Stone, who would finish with 32 points, would hit two free throws and then get a crucial offensive rebound and two more free throws to put St. Cloud State up 78-74 with 14 seconds left. The Golden Eagles' Kobe Critchley (Fr., G, Roseville, Minn./Health Science) would hit a three as the clock struck zero but UMC would fall just one point short.

The Golden Eagles fall to 3-10 (1-8 NSIC), while St. Cloud State improved to 7-8 (4-5 NSIC) with Saturday's win.

Minnesota Crookston's name of the game Saturday was balance as they had five players score in double-figures. Derrick Redd, Jr. (Sr., G, Menifee, Calif./Sports and Rec Management) played his strongest game recently, with 15 points, three boards and three assists on 7-of-12 shooting. Critchley continued his solid play, as of late, with 15 points on 5-of-10 from the field and 3-of-7 from beyond the arc. Ben Grygiel (Jr., F, Rockford, Ill./Business Management) added 15 points on 6-of-10 from the field and 3-of-6 from beyond the arc.

Nate Lorenz (Fr., F, Breckenridge, Minn./Health Science) and Polk each added 12 points. Polk chipped in seven rebounds and four assists. Xavier Hall (Jr., G, Woodbury, Minn./Sports and Rec Maangement) provided energy off the bench with eight points on 4-of-4 from the field.

UMC was 32-of-63 for 50 percent from the field and 7-of-19 for 36.8 from beyond the arc.

St. Cloud State looked to Stone's 32 points and six boards. Stone was 10-of-17 from the field, 4-of-4 from beyond the arc and 8-of-10 from the charity stripe. Gage Davis added 17 points and seven rebounds, while Mark Hall chipped in 11 and Jon Averkamp had 10 points and six boards.

The Huskies were 28-of-59 for 47.5 percent from the field and 7-of-14 for 50 percent from beyond the arc. In addition, they were 17-of-22 for 77.3 percent from the free-throw line.

UMC would get out to a five-point advantage (27-22) on Critchley lay-up with 6:33 left in the first half. However, a 7-0 run culminated in a Stone three would put St. Cloud State up 29-27 with 5:08 left in the frame. UMC would be able to hang with the Huskies and would tie the game up on a Hall steal and transition lay-up to knot it up at 34-34 going into the break.

St. Cloud State would go up nine early in the second half as Stone hit a three, followed by a jumper to make it 48-39 with 16:06 remaining. UMC would surge back though and knot up the game at 48-48 on a Grygiel trey with 13:25 left.

The Huskies would surge again as Stone had seven-straight points to put the Huskies up 64-58 with 7:07 left in the game. UMC would hang with until they would tie it up 74-74 on Polk's free throws. That is when St. Cloud State would get crucial rebounds and free throws to come away with the narrow 80-79 win.

The Golden Eagles will finish the weekend Sun., Jan. 10 as they host University of Minnesota Duluth at 3 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.
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