CROOKSTON, Minn. – A crucial defensive stop and a pair of Chase Knickerbocker (So., G/F, Annandale, Minn.) free throws lifted the University of Minnesota Crookston men's basketball team to a 73-70 win over Concordia University-St. Paul. The Golden Bears had a last second half-court shot from Sam Siganos, that would send visions of Ayob Ayob of Minnesota State Moorhead running through UMC's heads. However, the prayer would not be answered as it would rim out as CSP came close but would ultimately fall to Minnesota Crookston.

The Golden Eagles have had seven games this season come down to the final 10 seconds. UMC has won three of those games and lost four. Saturday's was a big one for UMC as they get over the hump after losing six straight. During that stretch, UMC had lost by an average of just 5.8 points in those six games.

Minnesota Crookston moves to 7-15 (3-13 NSIC) with the win. The seven wins ties their most victories since the 2000-01 season, in which they had nine wins. They also achieved seven victories in 2014-15 in Head Coach Dan Weisse's first season. The Golden Eagles continue to show improvement with a young club that features 11 underclassmen. Minnesota Crookston has been in almost every game they have played, losing nine games by 10 or less points. UMC is now tied for seventh place in the NSIC North with University of Minnesota Duluth.

UMC had a balanced effort across the board on Saturday. Chase Knickerbocker (So., G/F, Annandale, Minn.) led the way with 21 points. He was 6-of-14 from the field, 4-of-8 from beyond the arc and 5-of-6 from the charity stripe. Harrison Cleary (Fr., G, Oak Creek, Wis.) rounded out an amazing weekend with 19 points on 7-of-19 from the field and 3-of-7 from beyond the arc. Cleary had a school-record 42 points on Friday versus Minnesota State University. He finishes the weekend averaging 30.5 points per game.

In addition to Knickerbocker and Cleary, Kobe Critchley (So., G, Roseville, Minn.) added 13 points and four assists. Xavier Hall (Sr., G, Woodbury, Minn.) came off the bench for energy on both ends of the court. Hall would finish with a career-high 10 points on 3-of-3 from the field and 4-of-4 from the charity stripe. He chipped in three assists. Chase Johnson (Fr., F, La Crosse, Wis.) would be big on the glass as he led the way with 12 rebounds.

The Golden Eagles were 25-of-61 for 41.0 percent from the field. They went 10-of-24 for 41.7 percent from beyond the arc. UMC was 13-of-17 for 76.5 percent from the charity stripe. Minnesota Crookston did a great job protecting the ball as they had 15 assists to just five turnovers on the game.

Concordia-St. Paul looked to 17 points and nine rebounds from Bryndan Matthews. Max Keefe added 13 points. Brandon McRoy would come off of the each for nine points, as did Ted Brown. He added seven boards on the evening.

The Golden Bears were 22-of-45 from the field for 48.9 percent. They went 4-of-10 for 40 percent from three-point range. They kept themselves in the game with a strong performance from the charity stripe. CSP was 22-of-26 for 84.6 percent on the night.

UMC started out the game on a ferocious pace as they took an early 11-4 lead on a jumper from Cleary. The Golden Bears would cut the lead to four after a trey from Siganos. But UMC quickly responded with a triple of their own from Critchley to go up 14-7. Minnesota Crookston would be able to extend their advantage out to 10 as Cleary hit a pair of free throws with 12:42 left in the first half.

Concordia-St. Paul would use an 11-4 run to cut the lead to 23-20 on a pair of Keefe free throws with 7:37 remaining in the frame. UMC would counter with buckets from Cleary and Hall to make it 27-20.

The Golden Bears would get the deficit down to 27-25 on a free throw from Matthews. UMC would respond again with a trey from Cleary to make it 30-25. 

Concordia-St. Paul would not go away as they would take over the lead 33-32 with an 8-2 run culminating in a Matthews basket with 3:01 remaining.

UMC and CSP would trade the lead until the Golden Bears would be able to push their advantage out to four on a McRoy jumper with four seconds remaining in the half.

Knickerbocker would ignite UMC out of the gate as they went on a quick 5-0 run to take the lead 42-41. Concordia-St. Paul would take the lead back with an Ahmad Newsome fast-break basket. UMC would seize the momentum back as Jim Warmack (Jr., F/C, East Grand Forks, Minn.) got a steal and put a stamp on it with a powerful two-hand dunk on the other end to make it 46-43. The play would fuel a 12-0 run that would culminate with a fast-break lay-in from Critchley to make it 54-43 with 12:24 remaining.

Concordia-St. Paul would stop the run with a Ted Brown free throw. However, UMC would keep the lead at over 10 for the next few minutes. They would have the advantage at 13 (65-52) after a Connor Gamble (R-Fr., G, Stillwater, Minn.) basket.

That is when the Golden Bears would make their move as they went on a 10-0 run ignited by six points from Brown to cut the lead to 65-62 with 4:18 left in the game. 

UMC would stop the run with a bucket from Critchley. However, Golden Bears responded and would be able to get within one point on a Matthews basket with 3:09 remaining.

The Golden Eagles would respond after Knickerbocker got the layup after a key Johnson offensive board. The lead would extend to 69-66. A pair of Chase Johnson free throws would make it 71-66 with 2:08 left in the contest.

Concordia-St. Paul did not give in as they would cut the lead to one on a pair of McRoy free throws with 40 seconds remaining.

The Golden Bears would get a key steal after Knickerbocker turned the ball over to McRoy. Newsome would drive the lane and get a floater but the defensive for UMC would prevail and Knickerbocker would get a big rebound with two seconds left.

Knickerbocker would be fouled where he would connect on both foul shots to make it 73-70 with two seconds remaining. UMC would have visions of the MSU Moorhead loss early this season on a last-second shot from Ayob. The ball would rim out on Siganos' shot as Minnesota Crookston would win the close one 73-70.

The UMC defense would come up strong in the second half as they would limit the Golden Bears to 29 points after giving up 41 in the first half. They allowed the Golden Bears to shoot just 34.6 percent in the second half with no three-point shots.

Minnesota Crookston will return to action as they hit the road for a four-game excursion in the NSIC, starting with Augustana University Feb. 3 at 8 p.m. in Sioux Falls, S.D.