Minnesota Crookston at Southwest Baptist
Fri., Nov. 11 - 4 p.m.
John Q. Hammons Court, Bolivar, Mo.
Live Stats -
http://www.sidearmstats.com/sbuniv/mbball/
Video -
https://portal.stretchinternet.com/sbu/
Minnesota Crookston vs. Lincoln (Mo.)
Sat., Nov. 12 - 1:30 p.m.
John Q. Hammons Court, Bolivar, Mo.
Live Stats -
http://www.sidearmstats.com/sbuniv/mbball/
CROOKSTON, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Crookston men's basketball team will open up the 2016-17 regular-season on the road at the SBU Classic in Bolivar, Mo. The Golden Eagles will take on Southwest Baptist University Fri., Nov. 11 at 4 p.m. at John Q. Hammons Court. They will then continue their battle against MIAA schools as they take on Lincoln University of Missouri Sat., Nov. 12 at 1:30 p.m. at John Q. Hammons Court in Bolivar, Mo.
Minnesota Crookston Preview
Probable Starters
So. PG 13 Kobe Critchley, 6-0 173, Roseville, Minn.
Fr. SG 0 Harrison Cleary, 6-1 175, Oak Creek, Wis.
So. 3G 25 Chase Knickerbocker, 6-6 189, Annandale, Minn.
R-So. SF 44 Gable Smith, 6-7 215, Lodi, Wis.
Jr. PF 54 Jim Warmack, 6-7 240, East Grand Forks, Minn.
The Golden Eagles went 1-0 in exhibition play with an 85-80 overtime win over College of St. Scholastica. Minnesota Crookston enters Head Coach Dan Weisse's third year at the lead of the program with a young roster that includes 12 freshmen and sophomores.
Minnesota Crookston was led in their exhibition by freshman Harrison Cleary (Fr., G, Oak Creek, Wis.), who had 21 points and seven boards on 8-of-14 shooting from the field. Chase Knickerbocker (So., G/F, Annandale, Minn.) added 18 points, including going 3-of-8 from beyond the arc. Kobe Critchley (So., G, Roseville, Minn.) would finish with 15 points with three assists.
On the boards, UMC looked to Gable Smith (R-So., F, Lodi, Wis.), who completed a double-double with 11 points and 16 boards. He also had two blocks and three steals.
Off the bench, Connor Gamble (R-Fr., G, Stillwater, Minn.) saw his first collegiate action after redshirting last year. Gamble would finish with seven points and six boards.
The Golden Eagles will look to continue to mature and grow as a team as they head into their first official action of the season. They would show resolve in the exhibition game as they gave up several leads but still hold steady and come away with a strong overtime period to beat the Saints 85-80. They will look to improve upon what they were able to do against St. Scholastica as they head into the weekend.
Southwest Baptist Preview
Probable Starters
So. PG 15 Cartier Dean, 6-1 180, Kansas City, Mo.
So. SG 3 Kai Woodfall, 6-0 170, Launceston, Australia
Sr. 3G 4 Kalehl Brown, 6-4 185, Cedar Falls, Iowa
Jr. SF 20 Logan Hovey, 6-6 225, Orlando, Fla.
Sr. PF 31 Brian Patterson, 6-8 230, Doniphan, Mo.
The Bearcats went 10-18 last season and were 5-17 in MIAA play. Southwest Baptist returns a lot of players from last year's team but they are still youthful. The Bearcats return four starters from last season's team, along with several key bench players. Their leading scorer from last season returns in forward Logan Hovey, a Division I transfer from Florida Gulf Coast, who averaged 15.2 points and 7.5 rebounds as a sophomore. Also returning in the paint is Brian Patterson, a 6-8 senior who averaged 11.6 points and 5.0 rebounds last season.
In the back court, the Bearcats will look to shooter Kai Woodfall, who was a 43.8 percent long-distance shooter, and who averaged 9.1 points per game as a freshman. Cartier Dean, who came off the bench last season, should also figure in prominently after tallying 8.9 points per game and shooting 41.4 percent from beyond the arc. As a team, last season Southwest Baptist shot 39.0 percent from three-point range. Also look for Kalehl Brown and Kalund Brown, twin brothers from Cedar Falls, Iowa, to see plenty of time for the Bearcats.
Lincoln Preview
Probable Starters
Sr. PG 12 Richie Lewis, 6-1 175, Flint, Mich.
Sr. SG 1 Anthony Virdure, 6-0 169, St. Louis, Mo.
Sr. 3G 10 Jaylon Smith, 6-4 183, Memphis, Tenn.
Sr. SF 15 Rod Ollison, 6-5 200, Pine Bluff, Ark.
Sr. PF 5 Tacourrus Mattox, 6-8 203, Oak Park, Ill.
The Blue Tigers return a very experienced roster that returns all five starters from last season. Lincoln University of Missouri has 11 juniors and seniors returning off a team that went 16-14 last season. The Blue Tigers averaged 77.9 points per game during the 2015-16 season and shot 35.8 percent from beyond the arc. They were picked fourth in the MIAA this season.
Lincoln is led by senior guard Anthony Virdure, who averaged 21.5 points and 3.3 assists per game as a junior. He is joined in the back court by fellow combo guard Richie Lewis, who averaged 10.4 points and 4.2 assists per game.
At the wing, senior Jaylon Smith return after tallying 18.2 points and 4.3 rebounds per game last season. Smith was a 37.0 percent shooter from beyond the arc as a junior.
In the front court, the Blue Tigers return Tacourrus Mattox, who tallied 6.1 points and 4.3 rebounds per game, and Rod Ollison, who averaged 3.3 points and 3.5 rebounds.
Off the bench, Lincoln also returns several experienced players. O'Shai Clark averaged 9.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per game last season for the Blue Tigers. Aaron Spudich tallied 4.1 points and 3.8 rebounds per game for the Blue Tigers. Sophomore Chase Morfeld gives Lincoln a shooter off the bench. He only averaged 2.6 points per game last season but shot 44.4 percent from long distance.
