CROOKSTON, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Crookston men's basketball team played 35 great minutes of basketball but a 20-6 run to close out the game would lead Minot State University to the 71-63 win.
 
The Golden Eagles fall to 3-20 (1-18 NSIC) with Friday's loss, while Minot State improved to 12-13 (7-12 NSIC).

"Minot State is a pretty good defensive team and I thought we did a lot of things well for the first 35 minutes," said Head Coach Dan Weisse. "We just let that last five minutes get away from us. The disappointing thing is we had things and you just have to make the play and we didn't make the play. On the other end of the floor, they did make the play. This one stings, they all do, but this one really does because we earned the right to be in that game but we have to make the plays and we just didn't down the stretch."
 
UMC was led by a strong game from their lone senior Derrick Redd, Jr. (Sr., G, Menifee, Calif./Sports and Rec Management). Redd, who is playing his final two home games at Lysaker Gymnasium this weekend, had 19 points on 6-of-12 from the field and 6-of-6 from the charity stripe. Redd is just 27 points from surpassing Jon Smith for third all-time in scoring at UMC. Redd added five assists.
 
Kobe Critchley (Fr., G, Roseville, Minn./Health Management) added 15 points on 6-of-15 from the field and 3-of-9 from beyond the arc. Jim Warmack (So., F/C, East Grand Forks, Minn./Management) had a strong game off the bench with eight points on a perfect 3-of-3 from the field. Chase Knickerbocker (Fr., G/F, Annandale, Minn./Finance) added six.
 
The Golden Eagles were 22-of-54 for 40.7 percent from the field and 9-of-24 for 39.1 percent from beyond the arc. They went 10-of-12 for 83.3 percent from the charity stripe.
 
Minot State was led by a double-double of 20 points and 11 rebounds from Tyler Rudolph on 7-of-17 from the field. Chris Davis added 11 points and six boards. Winston Williams came off the bench for nine points, while Nathan Mertens tallied eight.
 
The Beavers were 20-of-50 for 40 percent from the field and 6-of-14 for 42.9 percent from beyond the arc. They made it count from the charity stripe, going 23-of-26 for 88.5 percent, led by Davis, who went 6-of-6.
 
Minot State would lead 21-13 with 6:13 left in the first half after a pair of Davis free throws. However, the Golden Eagles wouldn't go away. A 7-0 run led by five points from Critchley would get UMC within 21-20 with 4:16 left in the half.
 
A pair of Beaver free throws from Davis would make it 23-20, but Gable Smith (R-Fr., F, Lodi, Wis./Management) would answer with a clutch three to make it 23-23 with 3:48 left in the first half.
 
Minot State would use a 5-0 run led by a Mertens trey to make it 28-23, but UMC would again get within one point as Critchley and Redd hit lay-ups to cut it to 28-27 with 2:03 left. Rudolph would hit a three to make it 31-27 with 1:11 remaining in the frame, but Ben Grygiel (Jr., F, Rockford, Ill./Management) would respond with a three of his own to cut it to 31-30 with 58 seconds left. That would be the score going into the break.
 
UMC would open the second half on a 5-0 run led by a Redd three as they would get out to a 35-31 lead with 17:56 left in the game. Minot State would be able to take the lead back (38-37) on a Williams old-fashioned three-point play with 16:08 left in the contest. The Beavers would get their lead out to 40-37, but buckets from Grygiel and Redd would get the lead back 41-40 with 14:31 remaining.
 
Minot State would take the lead again but back-to-back threes from Knickerbocker and Riley Rice (Jr., F, Mullen, Neb./Sports and Rec Management) would give the Golden Eagles a 47-44 lead with 12:30 left.
 
The Beavers would come back and take the lead in the see-saw game back 50-47 with 9:30 left. However, UMC would not go away as they used an 8-0 run to take the 55-50 lead with 5:47 left led by four points from Warmack.
 
However, Minot State would take over from there. Rudolph would hit a pair of free throws to make it 55-52 in favor of UMC. After a turnover from Rice, Michael Pelo would hit a three to tie it up 55-55. Critchley would then miss an open three, giving the ball back to Minot State, who would get a pair of free throws to go up 57-55.
 
UMC would fight back and get the game tied up 57-57 with a pair of free throws from Redd with 3:43 left. However, following a Rudolph jumper, Smith would miss a pair of free throws and give the ball  back to Minot State where Davis would hit a jumper to quickly make it 61-57 with 2:49 left.
 
After a Critchley turnover, Rudolph would get the open three to all but ice the game and Minot State would hang on for the 71-63 win.
 
Friday's game was UMC's Cancer Awareness game, in which the Golden Eagles helped to raise money for the treatment of KROX Radio personality Matt Bishop, who is currently going through his second battle with Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Bishop has been a play-by-play announcer for the Golden Eagles for the past two seasons and is only 27 years old.
 
Saturday's game will mark Senior Day for the Golden Eagles as they honor Redd, who has been a great teammate and leader for Minnesota Crookston in the first two seasons under Head Coach Dan Weisse. Redd has built himself into one of the best players to wear the Maroon and Gold as he is currently fourth all-time in scoring in program history.
 
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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