CROOKSTON, Minn. - The University of Minnesota Crookston men's basketball team will wrap up their 2015-16 home schedule as they take on Minot State University and University of Mary this weekend. The Golden Eagles will take on Minot State Fri., Feb. 12 at 8 p.m. and U-Mary Sat., Feb. 13 at 6 p.m.
UMC comes into the weekend with a 3-19 (1-17 NSIC) on Head Coach
Dan Weisse's second season leading the squad. Minot State enters the weekend with an 11-13 (6-12 NSIC) mark, while U-Mary is 14-10 (9-9 NSIC) on the 2015-16 season.
Friday will mark "Bishop Strong", an event at both of the basketball games to help raise money for KROX AM 1260/105.7 FM radio personality Matt Bishop. He is going through his second battle in his young life with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. The first 100 fans will receive a "Bishop Strong" shirt, while 150 fans will also receive a Cancer Awareness wristband. UMC will also be giving away green shoelaces, which will also be worn by the UMC women's basketball team. You can donate to Matt's cause at the door with all proceeds going directly to Bishop to help him and his family with medical costs.
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#5StoryLines
1. Can
Derrick Redd, Jr. have a strong Senior weekend?
2. What will the UMC posts be able to produce on the weekend?
3. Can
Kobe Critchley continue his strong play against Minot State and U-Mary?
4. Who will provide points off the bench for the Golden Eagles?
5. Can the Golden Eagles end their home slate with wins?
#Tidbits- The UMC men's basketball team enters their final home weekend with a 3-19 (1-17 NSIC) record. The Golden Eagles are in their second season under Head Coach
Dan Weisse. UMC has been in a lot of games this season, losing 11 games by 10 or less points this season. The Golden Eagles will look to end on a strong note at home as they face Minot State University Feb. 12 at 8 p.m. and University of Mary Feb. 13 at 6 p.m.
- The Golden Eagles have just two players in
Derrick Redd, Jr. and
Jim Warmack, who played in games last season, while
Gable Smith and
A.J. Walton both redshirted. The other 10 players on the team are newcomers. UMC is currently starting four players who are in their first seasons playing NCAA Division II basketball. The upside is that UMC has just one senior and four-of-five starters who are either freshmen or sophomores with
C.J. Polk,
Kobe Critchley,
Gable Smith and
Nate Lorenz. In addition, key bench players
Chase Knickerbocker and
Jim Warmack have their best years in front of them, while junior college transfers
Xavier Hall and
Ben Grygiel will still have one year to play for UMC.
- Saturday will mark senior day for
Derrick Redd, Jr., the lone senior for the Golden Eagles. Redd has been a leader for the Golden Eagles this season and will go down as one of the best players UMC has had thus far. Redd is currently fourth all-time in scoring and is on pace to become only the third player ever to score 900 or more points in a career for the Golden Eagles.
-
Gable Smith has been a blocking machine for the Golden Eagles in his first season playing with UMC after redshirting his initial season. Smith is leading the NSIC with 43 blocks this season. In addition, he holds the school record for block in a career with that mark.
- The UMC offense has shown a lot of improvement in Coach Weisse's second season. UMC is averaging more than 10 points a game more over last season as they have increased their scoring average from 58 to 66.7. In addition, the Golden Eagles are a better three-point shooting team, as they are hitting at a 34.3 clip up from 32.2 percent. They are also an improved shooting team overall, improving from 38.7 to 41.0 percent as a team.
- Minot State enters the weekend with an 11-3 (6-11 NSIC) mark on the season. The Beavers are currently averaging 75.5 points per game with a high-powered offense, but are giving up 74.0 points per game. Minot State is shooting 37.6 percent from beyond the arc. The Beavers are led by sophomore forward Tyler Rudolph, who is averaging 17 points and 8.6 rebounds. In addition to Rudolph, Winston Williams comes off the bench for 10.1 points per game, while Chris Davis is averaging 9.8 points per game.
- U-Mary has had a strong first season under Head Coach Joe Kittell. The Marauders are 14-10 (9-9 NSIC) on the 2015-16 season. U-Mary is led by forward Bryan Jefferson, who is averaging 15.3 points and 6.6 rebounds. Guard Marquealis Edwards comes in averaging 13.4 points and 6.2 rebounds, while shooter Brandon Tyler is hitting threes at a 40.8 percent clip and averaging 10.0 points per game. U-Mary is out-scoring opponents 81.0 to 77.0 on the season, while shooting 35.3 percent from beyond the arc.
