Men's Basketball 1/19/2017 5:47:00 PM Shawn Smith, Sports Information Director

Golden Eagles Head to North Dakota for Two-Game Road Swing

CROOKSTON, Minn. - The University of Minnesota Crookston men's basketball team will hit the road for a two-game stint in North Dakota this weekend. The Golden Eagles will battle two NSIC North Division opponents as they take on University of Mary Fri., Jan. 20 at 8 p.m. and Minot State University Sat., Jan. 21 at 6 p.m.

The Golden Eagles come in with a 6-12 (2-10 NSIC) mark, but they are just two games out of fifth place coming into a key weekend entering the final stretch of the season. The Golden Eagles take on the Marauders, who are fourth in the league with a 7-11 (5-7 NSIC) mark, and the Beavers, who are tied for fifth with an 8-10 (4-8 NSIC) mark.

Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles
Head Coach: Dan Weisse
Record at UMC: 16-56 Season at UMC:Third Season

U-Mary Marauders
Head Coach: Joe Kittell
Record at U-Mary: 26-23 Season at U-Mary: Second Season

Minot State Beavers
Head Coach: Matt Murken
Record at MINOT: 55-75 Season at MINOT: Fifth Season

Jan. 20, 2016 • Bismarck, N.D. • McDowell Activity Center • 8 p.m.
Video: : https://portal.stretchinternet.com/umary/
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/mary/mbball/

Jan. 21, 2016 • Minot, N.D. • MSU Dome • 6 p.m.
Video: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/minotstate/
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/minotstate/mbball/
Radio: 1260 KROX AM/105.7 FM (Chris Fee, Play by Play)

Weekly Snapshot
Minnesota Crookston
Projected Starters
So. PG 13 Kobe Critchley (6-0 173, Roseville, Minn.) 7.5 PPG, 3.8 APG
Fr. SG 0 Harrison Cleary (6-1 175, Oak Creek, Wis.) 20.0 PPG, 3.6 RPG
So. 3G 25 Chase Knickerbocker (6-6 189, Annandale, Minn.) 11.1 PPG, 4.3 RPG
R-So. SF 44 Gable Smith (6-7 215, Lodi, Wis.) 7.7 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 2.7 BPG
Jr. PF 54 Jim Warmack (6-7 240, East Grand Forks, Minn.) 5.7 PPG, 2.6 RPG
Top Bench Players
Fr. F 21 Chase Johnson (6-6 207, La Crosse, Wis.) 4.7 PPG, 4.2 RPG
R-Fr. G 1 Connor Gamble (6-0 157, Stillwater, Minn.) 8.6 PPG, 1.2 RPG
Sr. G 14 Xavier Hall (6-1 170, Woodbury, Minn.) 2.9 PPG, 1.8 APG

U-Mary
Projected Starters
Sr. PG 4 Pat Thomas (6-3 197, Adelaide, Australia) 7.6 PPG, 3.8 APG
Sr. SG 5 Erron Collins (6-0 180, Mandan, N.D.) 2.9 PPG, 0.7 RPG
Sr. 3G 1 Rickey Suggs (6-4 205, Woodbury, Minn.) 10.4 PPG, 4.2 RPG
Sr. SF 10 Bryan Jefferson (6-7 205, Aurora, Ill.) 14.6 PPG, 7.2 RPG
Sr. PF 33 Isaac Lindquist (6-9 235, Milbank, S.D.) 8.6 PPG, 2.9 RPG
Top Bench Players
Sr. G 2 Damonta Henry (6-0 175, Chicago, Ill.) 14.2 PPG, 2.5 RPG
Jr. F 14 Trevor Zacher (6-5 210, Beulah, N.D.) 7.9 PPG, 3.8 RPG
Jr. G 20 Luke Scott (6-2 185, Minneapolis, Minn.) 4.3 PPG, 1.6 RPG
Fr. G 00 Jaylan White (5-10 170, St. Charles, Iowa) 2.9 PPG, 0.5 RPG

Minot State
Projected Starters
Jr. PG 11 Luis Ricci Maia (5-11 190, Franca, Brazil) 12.7 PPG, 4.3 APG
Jr. SG 20 Russ Davis (6-3 220, Chandler, Ariz.) 9.8 PPG, 3.5 RPG
Sr. 3G 14 Nathan Mertens (6=3 190, Devils Lake, N.D.) 10.9 PPG, 2.6 RPG
Jr. SF 24 Tyler Rudolph (6-6 230, Bismarck, N.D.) 20.2 PPG, 9.2 RPG
Jr. PF 4 Stevan Jovanovic (6-8 225, Novi Sad, Serbia) 9.9 PPG, 4.2 RPG
Top Bench Players
Jr. G 00 Nathaniel Moore (6-1 160, Milwaukee, Wis.) 10.1 PPG, 2.9 RPG
R-Fr. F 21 Trevor Rothstein (6-7 200, St. Michael, Minn.) 4.1 PPG, 3.8 RPG

#5StoryLines
1. Can UMC play a full 40 minutes of basketball?

2. Can the Golden Eagles contain U-Mary's Bryan Jefferson?

3. Can UMC slow down Tyler Rudolph of Minot State?

4. Can Harrison Cleary have a bounce back pair of games after a down weekend?

5. Will Connor Gamble and Chase Knickerbocker continue their strong play of late?

#ChaseIsOnTheCase
UMC sophomore wing Chase Knickerbocker continues to become a more
polished offensive player as the season goes along. Knickerbocker is averaging 15 points per game over the last three for UMC. He comes into the weekend averaging 11.1 points per game and shooting 36.6 percent from beyond the arc. Knickerbocker was big against Southwest Minnesota State as Cleary struggled to find many opportunities. The sophomore had 23 points against the Mustangs.

#ItIsVeryCleary
UMC freshman guard Harrison Cleary is off to a phenomenal start to his career. The Oak Creek, Wis. native continues to be one of the best scorers in the NSIC. Cleary is third in the NSIC scoring with 20.0 points per game. The freshman has scored a career-high 34 points twice this season, hitting that mark against Southwest Baptist and Bemidji State. Cleary has tallied 20 or more points on nine occasions this season

#TakeAGamble
UMC redshirt freshman sharp-shooter Connor Gamble continues to show improvement for a young Golden Eagle squad. The native of Stillwater, Minn., is averaging 12.5 points per game. He has become one of UMC's biggest offensive threats, along with Harrison Cleary and Chase Knickerbocker. Gamble is coming off of 15 points against Sioux Falls. He is shooting 42.7 percent from beyond the arc this season. In addition to his three-point shooting, he has added to his arsenal as he has become better at getting to the basket and scoring. Gamble will look to continue to show improvement throughout the rest of this season.

#ThouShallNotPass
The NSIC's leading shot blocker and one of the NCAA's top is none other than UMC redshirt sophomore Gable Smith. He had a career-high seven blocks against St. Cloud State and came close to surpassing that with six against Sioux Falls last Saturday. In addition to his defensive prowess, Smith is becoming a more well-rounded player on the offensive end. He is averaging 8.8 poing and 6.0 rebounds per game over the last four games for the Golden Eagles.

#Tidbits
- Minnesota Crookston enters the weekend with a 6-12 (2-10 NSIC) mark. Though they are currently in the eighth slot in the NSIC North, they are just two games out of fifth place. It will be a big weekend for UMC as they look to increase their standing as they play a team tied for fifth and the team in fourth place. The Golden Eagles are just one win shy of tying their previous best mark under Head Coach Dan Weisse of seven, which came during his first season in 2014-15.

- The Golden Eagles are averaging 72.4 points per game, while giving up 76.1 points per game to their opponents. UMC is shooting 45.2 percent from the field and 36.9 percent from beyond the arc. They have struggled from the charity stripe as they are shooting just 67.3 percent from the charity stripe. They are allowing opponents to shoot 46.6 percent from the field.

- UMC has been led in scoring by freshman Harrison Cleary, but they are devloping more offensive threats as the season goes along as several other players are increasing their roles. Chase Knickerbocker is averaging 15 points per game in the last three games, while Connor Gamble has also improved. Gable Smith has also become more well-versed on the offensive side of the ball.

- Kobe Critchley comes in averaging 3.8 assists per game from his point guard spot. The sophomore is coming off of a career-high 10 assists last Friday against Southwest Minnesota State. He is averaging 5.5 assists per game over the last four contests for the Golden Eagles.

- U-Mary comes in with a 7-11 mark on the season. They are currently in fourth in the NSIC North. The Marauders are led by Bryan Jefferson's 14.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. Damonta Henry has been coming off of the bench as of late for the Marauders for 14.2 points per game. Henry is shooting 36.4 percent from beyond the arc. Rickey Suggs adds 10.4 points per game.

- The Marauders are averaging 74.0 points per game, while giving up 77.3 points to their opponents. U-Mary is shooting 46.1 percent from the field and 37.3 percent from beyond the arc.

- Minot State enters the weekend with an 8-10 (4-8 NSIC) mark. The Beavers are currently tied for fifth in the NSIC North. The Beavers look to Tyler Rudolph for 20.2 points and 9.2 rebounds per game. He brings an inside-out game as he can make it in the post and is also shooting 42.9 percent from beyond the arc. In addition to Rudolph, point guard Luis Ricci Maia is averaging 12.7 points and 4.3 assists per game.

- The Beavers are averaging 79.2 points per game and giving up 78.3 points per game to their opponents. Minot State is shooting 49.7 percent from the field and 41.8 percent from beyond the arc.

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