Men's Basketball 12/14/2016 10:53:00 AM Shawn Smith, Sports Information Director

UMC Men's Basketball Hosts Pair of Opponents from the First City on the Mississippi

CROOKSTON, Minn. - The University of Minnesota Crookston men's basketball team will host Bemidji State University and Oak Hills Christian College heading into the upcoming winter break. UMC takes on Bemidji State Thurs., Dec. 15 at 7 p.m. in an NSIC tilt. They will then take on Oak Hills Christian College, also out of Bemidji, Minn., in a non-conference game Sat., Dec. 17 at 1 p.m.

Minnesota Crookston and Bemidji State both come into Thursday with matching 3-6 marks. Oak Hills Christian enters Saturday with an 0-11 mark on the season.

Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles
Head Coach: Dan Weisse
Record at UMC: 13-50 Season at UMC:Third Season

Bemidji State Beavers
Head Coach: Mike Boschee
Record at BSU: 54-57 Season at BSU: Fifth Season

Oak Hills Christian Wolfpack
Head Coach: Jeremy Anderson
Season at OHCC: Third Season

Dec. 15, 2016 • Crookston, Minn. • Lysaker Gymnasium • 7 p.m.
Video: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/crk/
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/umcrookston/mbball/
Dec. 17, 2016 • Crookston, Minn. • Lysaker Gymnasium • 1 p.m.
Video: : https://portal.stretchinternet.com/crk/
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/umcrookston/mbball/
Radio: 1260 KROX AM/105.7 FM (Matt Bishop, Play by Play)

#5StoryLines
1. Can UMC get consistent production out of their entire team?

2. Will Harrison Cleary continue his hot start to the season?

3. Can UMC slow down BSU freshman Jai'Vionne Green?

4. Will the Golden Eagles be able to win the battle of the boards?

5. Can UMC go into the Holiday break on a strong note?

Weekly Snapshot

Minnesota Crookston
Projected Starters
So. PG 13 Kobe Critchley (6-0 173, Roseville, Minn.) 8.0 PPG, 3.0 APG
Fr. SG 0 Harrison Cleary (6-1 175, Oak Creek, Wis.) 21.7 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 2.1 APG
So. 3G 25 Chase Knickerbocker (6-6 189, Annandale, Minn.) 9.0 PPG, 3.7 RPG
R-So. SF 44 Gable Smith (6-7 215, Lodi, Wis.) 7.0 PPG, 4.6 RPG
Jr. PF 54 Jim Warmack (6-7 240, East Grand Forks, Minn.) 7.2 PPG, 3.2 RPG
Top Bench Players
Fr. F 21 Chase Johnson (6-6 207, La Crosse, Wis.) 5.2 PPG, 4.4 RPG
R-Fr. G 1 Connor Gamble (6-0 157, Stillwater, Minn.) 7.4 PPG, 0.9 RPG
Sr. G 14 Xavier Hall (6-1 170, Woodbury, Minn.) 3.9 PPG, 2.9 APG

Bemidji State
Projected Starters
Jr. PG 12 Sharif Black (6-2 175, Detroit, Mich.) 13.6 PPG, 4.1 RPG
Fr. SG 4 Jai'Vionne Green (6-4 175, Wauwatosa, Wis.) 16.1 PPG, 4.3 RPG
Fr. 3G 21 Peyton Dibble (6-6 205, Cameron, Wis.) 8.9 PPG, 4.9 RPG
Fr. SF 24 Logan Bader (6-7 205, Milltown, Wis.) 6.1 PPG, 4.0 RPG
Sr. PF 5 Ben Best (6-8 215, Drummond, Wis.) 10.9 PPG, 4.7 RPG
Top Bench Players
Sr. F 3 William Harvey (6-7 210, Albuquerque, N.M.) 7.3 PPG, 3.2 RPG
Jr. G 11 Christian Pekarek (6-1 180, Little Falls, Minn.) 7.3 PPG, 3.3 RPG
Sr. F 14 Shane White (6-8 230, Rhinelander, Wis.) 4.4 PPG, 3.6 RPG

Oak Hills Christian
Projected Starters
Jr. G 3 Moe Blackmon (6-1, Milwaukee, Wis.) 14.5 PPG, 4.5 RPG
Fr. G 33 Duke Abalos (5-9, Odessa, Texas) 10.0 PPG, 2.2 RPG
So. G 44 Michael Wolfe (6-1, Seward, Alaska) 6.0 PPG, 3.6 RPG
Sr. F 11 Colin Tyrone (6-1, Lakeland, Fla.) 7.4 PPG, 3.9 RPG
So. F 21 Blake Dragt (6-6, Castlewood, S.D.) 5.4 PPG, 5.5 RPG
Top Bench Players
Fr. G 32 Ronnie Jackson (6-1, Seward, Alaska) 5.8 PPG, 3.2 RPG
Fr. F 14 Bernachi Dismond (6-3, Dallas, Texas) 6.3 PPG, 3.2 RPG
So. G 12 Joe Weeks (5-10, Bemidji, Minn.) 0.0 PPG, 0.3 RPG

#EGFProud
UMC junior Jim Warmack has shown vast improvement already this season for the Golden Eagles. Warmack has especially shined in recent games for UMC. The East Grand Forks-native is averaging 10.4 points and 3.2 rebounds per game over the last five games for the Golden Eagles. Warmack had 16 points against Jamestown and 15 versus MSU Moorhead. Against the Dragons, Warmack was 6-of-8 from the field and 3-of-4 from beyond the arc.

#ItIsVeryCleary
UMC freshman guard Harrison Cleary is off to a phenomenal start to his career. The Oak Creek, Wis. native made an instant impression with 34 points in his collegiate debut on the road at Southwest Baptist. Cleary is averaging 21.7 points per game this season, which currently leads the entire NSIC. Cleary is shooting 50 percent from the field and 43.2 percent from beyond the arc. Cleary has scored 20 or more points in six games this season.

#KobeAtThePoint
UMC sophomore point guard Kobe Critchley leads the offense for the Golden Eagles. Critchley has come into his own in the last four games for the Golden Eagles. Critchley tied a season-high for assists with five against MSU Moorhead. Critchley is averaging 9.8 points per game and 3.5 assists per game over the last four games. Critchley shot 4-of-7 from beyond the arc for 57.1 percent against MSU Moorhead.

#TakeAGamble
UMC redshirt freshman Connor Gamble is averaging 10.5 points per game in the last two games for the Golden Eagles. Gamble had 12 off of the bench on 3-of-6 from the field against MSU Moorhead last Friday. He was 3-of-5 from beyond the arc and 3-of-4 from the charity stripe. Gamble had nine points against Northern State.

#Tidbits
- Minnesota Crookston comes into Thursday with a 3-6 mark on the season. They have started conference with an 0-4 mark but they will look to snap that skid on Thursday against Bemidji State. The Golden Eagles came seconds away from upsetting Minnesota State University Moorhead, but a last second Ayob Ayob three sunk UMC's hopes on Friday. The Golden Eagles have played well on Friday so far in conference, but are looking to put together a full 40 minutes of basketball.

- The Golden Eagles have been led this season by Harrison Cleary, a freshman who is averaging 21.7 points per game this season. In addition to Cleary, Chase Knickerbocker is tallying 9.0 points per game, while Kobe Critchley is tallying 8.0 points per game. Minnesota Crookston continues to make progress as a team with a young squad. Of the top nine players in UMC's rotation based on minutes, six of those players are either sophomores or younger.

- UMC will match up against two opponents out of Bemidji, Minn. this weekend. They face Bemidji State University on Thursday and Oak Hills Christian College on Saturday.

- Minnesota Crookston is averaging 73.4 points per game this season and giving up 79.6 points per game to their foes. The Golden Eagles are shooting 47.5 percent from the field and 36.5 percent from beyond the arc. UMC is allowing their opponents to shoot 46.6 percent from the field and 42.0 percent from beyond the arc.

- Bemidji State also comes into Thursday with a 3-6 mark. They are 1-3 in conference play. The Beavers start a young line-up with three freshman and one transfer. Ben Best is the only experienced player who starts for Bemidji State. They do have an experienced bench as three upperclassmen come off the bench with William Harvey, Christian Pekarek and Shane White.

- The Beavers have been led this season by freshman Jai'Vionne Green, who is averaging 16.1 points per game. Green is shooting 48.2 percent from the field and 47.2 percent from beyond the arc. In addition to green, Chadron State transfer Sharif Black comes in tallying 13.6 points per game, while senior Ben Best is tallying 10.9 points per game.

- Bemidji State is averaging 76.3 points per game this season and giving up 76.2 points per game to their opponents. The Beavers are shooting 44.6 percent from the field and 36.2 percent from beyond the arc.

- Oak Hills Christian comes in with an 0-11 mark on the season. The Wolfpack is led by Moe Blackmon's 14.5 points per game. In addition to Blackmon, Duke Abalos is averaging 10.0 points per contest. Oak Hills Christian runs a small line-up with one big man with Blake Dragt at 6-6. In their last game against Northwestern College, Oak Hills Christian looked to Blackmon's 10 points per game. They shot 22.5 percent from the field and 12.9 percent from beyond the arc.

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