WINONA, Minn. – A late rally for the University of Minnesota Crookston men's basketball team fell short in a 64-51 loss to Winona State University at McCown Gymnasium in Winona, Minn. The Warriors would use a 15-0 run in the first half and a 10-2 run in the second to come away with the win. UMC would get as close as nine late, but they wouldn't get any closer in the loss to the Warriors.

Minnesota Crookston falls to 5-7 (1-5 NSIC) with the loss. Winona State improved to 6-5 (3-4 NSIC) with Friday's win.

The Golden Eagles looked to 14 points from Harrison Cleary (Fr., G, Oak, Creek, Wis.) on 5-of-13 from the field. Cleary continues to lead the entire NSIC in scoring this season. Kobe Critchley (So., G, Roseville, Minn.) added 10 points on 4-of-6 from the field. He also added seven boards.

Chase Knickerbocker (So., G/F, Annandale, Minn.) added eight points, while Gable Smith (R-So., F, Lodi, Wis.) chipped in eight points, seven rebounds and four blocks.

The Golden Eagles would struggle shooting the ball on the night as they were just 19-of-53 for 35.8 percent. They would go 6-of-22 for 27.3 percent from three-point range.

Winona State won the rebound battle 33-24 over the Golden Eagles.

The Warriors looked to four players in double-figures. Isaiah Gray led the way with 18 points on 7-of-10 from the field. Tommy Gathje came into the starting line-up for Kyle Bauman and finished with 12 points. Corey Jeffs and Riley Bambenek each added 10 for the Warriors.

Winona State was 25-of-57 from the field for 43.9 percent from the field. They would go 4-of-15 for 26.7 percent from beyond the arc.

The Golden Eagles would race out to a 9-2 lead led by seven points from Cleary. UMC would extend their advantage to 12-4 after a Jim Warmack bucket and free throw. Winona State would close the gap to 12-8 after a Gathje jumper with 13:13 left in the first half.

A Knickerbocker put-back would put the Golden Eagles up 14-8, but Riley Bambenek would nail a three-pointer to get the Warriors within 14-11. Winona State would build on their run and would take the 15-14 advantage after back-to-back Gathje buckets. The Warriors extended their run to 10-0 with a Mason Domask three-pointer as they took an 18-14 advantage on the Golden Eagles. They would push their run out to 15-0 following a Jeffs three-pointer that made it 23-14 with 6:33 remaining in the first frame.

The Warriors would go into the break up 30-18 on the Golden Eagles. UMC looked to seven points from Cleary on 3-of-6 from the field. Warmack added three points.

Minnesota Crookston was 8-of-25 for 32.0 percent from the field.

Winona State looked to eight points from Gathje. Bambenek added six points, while Jeffs had five. The Warriors went 12-of-31 for 38.7 percent from the field.

Winona State would open the second half with a three from Jeffs to give them a 15-point lead out of the gate. A Gray bucket would push it out to 17 (35-18) early in the second half.

Chase Johnson (Fr., F. La Crosse, Wis.) would end the early run for Winona State with a basket to get UMC back within 15. He would start an 8-0 run for the Golden Eagles. Critchley would hit a trey to get the deficit down to 12 followed by a Knickerbocker old-fashioned three-point play to get UMC back within nine points with 16:46 remaining in the game.

Winona State came up with another small run, this time 7-0 to make it 42-26 in favor of the Warriors following a Gray old-fashioned three-point play. The Warriors would get their advantage out to 45-28 on a Connor Flack old-fashioned three-point play.

Winona State would be able to get their lead out to as much as 22 after a Gray free throw. The Golden Eagles would cut the lead to 19 after a Critchley trey and start a 7-0 run. A Cleary jumper would get UMC within 15 points with 4:52 left.

A Smith three-pointer would get the Golden Eagles deficit down to 12 with 3:07 left in the contest. After a steal, Johnson would go 2-of-2 from the charity stripe to get UMC within 10 points (58-48) with 2:23 left in the game. Gathje would respond on the other end for the Warriors with a basket to get the WSU lead out to 12 with two minutes left in the contest.

Winona State would foul the Golden Eagles where they would send Cleary to the line. Cleary would go 1-of-2 from the line. Johnson would then come up big defensive with a steal and get the put-back off a Cleary miss to get the Golden Eagles within nine with 1:18 remaining in the game.

UMC would be forced to foul and would ultimately send Bambenek to the charity stripe, where he would hit both to put the Warriors up 62-51 with 52 seconds left. Johnson had the chance to get the Golden Eagles closer but missed both free throws, ending any chance for a comeback for UMC as Winona State would hang on for the win.

Minnesota Crookston will close out 2016 at Upper Iowa University Sat., Dec. 31 at 6 p.m. at Dorman Gymnasium in Fayette, Iowa.