CROOKSTON, Minn. – University of Minnesota Crookston men's basketball player Harrison Cleary (Fr., G, Oak Creek, Wis.) poured in a school-record 42 points but the Golden Eagles would fall short 78-74 to Minnesota State University, Mankato Fri., Jan. 27 at Lysaker Gymnasium.

The Golden Eagles fall to 6-15 (2-13 NSIC) with the loss. UMC had opportunities late as they made things interesting after being down seven points with 3:24 reamining. Minnesota Crookston would get the deficit down to two points (67-65) with 2:36 remaining as Cleary nailed a three-pointer off an assist from Kobe Critchley (So., G, Roseville, Minn.). Minnesota State would quickly counter with a bucket from Jay Knuth and UMC would have a costly turnover from Cleary as the lead got back out to seven with 1:18 left.

Minnesota Crookston would not go away as they would cut the lead down to one possession as Cleary made a bucket in the paint with five seconds remaining. A free throw from Aarias Austin would ice the game as the Golden Eagles fell in their fourth game that came down to the final 10 seconds this season. UMC has also won two games that came down to the final seconds.

The Golden Eagles continue to come close to overtaking the hump as they have lost six straight. In those games, UMC has lost by an average of only 5.8 points.
Minnesota State improved to 14-7 (9-6 NSIC) with Friday's victory over the Golden Eagles.  

After 19 points in the first half, the Maverick defense would do a great job of shutting down Cleary for the first 13 minutes as he had just four points off of free throws going into the final seven minutes of the game. Cleary would flip the on-switch the rest of the way as he was on auto-pilot on his way to 19 points in the final seven minutes of the game. Cleary would finish with 42 on 17-of-28 from the field and 6-of-7 from the charity stripe. The performance surpasses Joe Hasz's record which has been untouched since 2003. Hasz originally set the mark with 40 points on Feb. 15, 2003 against University of Minnesota Morris. UMC's all-time scorer Hasz, remains fourth all-time in scoring in NSIC history.

Cleary's 42 points ties last year's NSIC high of 42 points from Jalen Pendleton of Minnesota State and Pierre Newton of University of Minnesota Duluth. In the last 10 years, it ranks only behind Matt Cadwell's 46 for Concordia University-St. Paul in 2009, Cody Schilling's 44 points for Augustana University in 2011, Brook Lutes' 43 points for Bemidji State University in 2014 and Taylor Witt's 43 points for St. Cloud State University. His performance is the best in the NSIC thus far for the 2016-17 season. 

In addition to Cleary, Connor Gamble (R-Fr., G, Stillwater, Minn.) came off the bench for 10 points on 4-of-6 from the field and 2-of-4 from beyond the arc. Chase Knickerbocker (So., G/F, Annadale, Minn.) added six points and six boards. Gable Smith (R-So., F, Lodi, Wis.) did a great job on the boards with 11 on the night, including six offensive boards as he showed a lot of hustle on the evening.

The Golden Eagles would shoot 31-of-65 from the field for 47.7 percent. They were just 5-of-19 for 26.3 percent from beyond the arc and were 7-of-10 for 70 percent from the charity stripe. Minnesota State narrowly won the rebounding edge 32-30. UMC had more offensive rebounds on the night with 12.

Minnesota State had great balance on the night with four players in double-figures. Joey Witthus led the way with 16 points on 5-of-9 from the field. Cole Harper and Jon Fuqua each added 15 points. Charlie Brown had an impact off of the bench with 11 points.

The Mavericks were 27-of-52 from the field for 51.9 percent. They were 5-of-11 for 45.5 percent from beyond the arc and 19-of-26 for 73.1 percent from the charity stripe.

Minnesota State would race out to a quick 11-2 lead paced by two three-pointers from Austin. UMC would be able to get the advantage down to three on a Cleary jumper with 12 minutes left in the first half.

The Mavericks responded with a trey from Trey Sampson and a basket from Knuth to push the lead back out to eight (18-10) with 10:51 remaining. UMC would pull back within two points (20-18) on a basket from Cleary with 8:21 remaining in the frame. The Golden Eagles would be able to knot it up at 21-21 on a three-pointer from Gamble with 7:26 left.

Minnesota State would counter with a 5-0 run to push the lead out to 26-21 with 5:52 left in the first half. They would continue to build their momentum and take a 37-27 lead on a Fuqua layup with 2:18 remaining in the half. UMC would be able to cut the lead to seven (39-32) on a Cleary jumper as they headed into the locker room.

The Mavericks would push their lead out 10 in the early going of the second half as Harper hit a bucket with 16:22 left in the game. UMC would look to cut into the lead but Minnesota State would keep bouncing the advantage back out as they would lead by 12 with 7:47 remaining.

Cleary's performance down the stretch would bring UMC back into the game as they would cut the lead to 63-60 on a Cleary old-fashioned three-point play with 4:07 remaining. Brown matched the effort with a three-pointer to push Minnesota State back out to the 66-60 lead.

Minnesota State would lead 67-60 before UMC would use five-straight points from Cleary to cut the lead down to two points with 2:36 left.

A Knuth bucket and a costly turnover from Cleary that would lead to a Fuqua bucket would put the Mavericks up 71-65 with 1:32 remaining. The Mavericks would lead by seven with 1:18 remaining, but UMC would not give up.

The Golden Eagles would cut the lead to three on a Cleary jumper with 15 seconds left. A quick foul would send Witthus to the line where he would make both to put MSU up 77-72 with 13 seconds left.

Cleary would make a quick layup to cut it to 77-74 with five seconds left. UMC would quickly foul Austin. He would miss the first one, but make the second as Minnesota State would hang on for the 78-74 win.

Minnesota Crookston will look to rebound as they face Concordia University-St. Paul Sat., Jan. 28 at 6 p.m. at Lysaker Gymnasium.