Men's Basketball 1/9/2017 4:56:00 PM Shawn Smith, Sports Information Director

Golden Eagles Trek to First City on the Mississippi in Search of Season Sweep of Beavers

CROOKSTON, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Crookston men's basketball team will look to build off their win over St. Cloud State University as they head to Bemidji, Minn. Tuesday. The Golden Eagles will take on the Beavers at 8 p.m. at the Sanford Center. Normally a hockey facility, the Sanford Center is one of the premier venues in Northern Minnesota. The BSU basketball teams have hosted games at the venue over the last three seasons. This will be the third-consecutive game for the Beavers at the Sanford Center.

The Golden Eagles enter the weekend with a 6-9 (2-7 NSIC) mark. UMC has won three of their last six games. They will look to take the series against Bemidji State after winning at Lysaker Gymnasium over the Beavers Dec. 15 82-81. Bemidji State comes into the weekend with a 4-10 (2-7 NSIC) mark. The Beavers are coming off an 86-78 win over University of Minnesota Duluth Saturday.

Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles
Head Coach: Dan Weisse
Record at UMC: 16-53 Season at UMC: Third Season

Bemidji State Beavers
Head Coach: Mike Boschee
Record at BSU: 55-61 Season at BSU: Fifth Season

Jan. 10, 2017 – Bemidji, Minn. – Sanford Center – 8 p.m.
Video: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/bsu/
Live Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=141847
Radio: 1260 KROX AM/105.7 FM (Matt Bishop, Play by Play)

Weekly Snapshot
Minnesota Crookston
Projected Starters
So. PG 13 Kobe Critchley (6-0 173, Roseville, Minn.) 7.6 ppg, 3.6 apg
Fr. SG 0 Harrison Cleary (6-1 175, Oak Creek, Wis.) 20.6 ppg, 3.7 rpg
So. 3G 25 Chase Knickerbocker (6-6 189, Annandale, Minn.) 10.2 ppg, 4.0 rpg
R-So. SF 44 Gable Smith (6-7 215, Lodi, Wis.) 8.1 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 2.5 bpg
Jr. PF 54 Jim Warmack (6-7 240, East Grand Forks, Minn.) 6.3 ppg, 2.5 rpg
Top Bench Players
R-Fr. G 1 Connor Gamble (6-1 175, Stillwater, Minn.) 8.2 ppg, 1.1 rpg
Fr. F 21 Chase Johnson (6-6 207, La Crosse, Wis.) 4.9 ppg, 4.6 rpg
Sr. G 14 Xavier Hall (6-1 170, Woodbury, Minn.) 3.2 ppg, 1.2 rpg

Bemidji State
Projected Starters
Jr. PG 12 Sharif Black (6-2 175, Detroit, Mich.) – 13.9 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.9 apg
Fr. SG 4 Jai'Vionne Green (6-4 175, Wauwatosa, Wis.) – 17.4 ppg, 3.9 rpg
Jr. 3G 11 Christian Pekarek (6-1 180, Little Falls, Minn.) – 5.4 ppg, 3.2 rpg
Fr. SF 24 Logan Bader (6-7 205, Milltown, Wis.) – 5.6 ppg, 3.9 rpg
Sr. PF 5 Ben Best (6-8 215, Drummond, Wis.) – 12.2 ppg, 4.6 rpg
Top Bench Players
Fr. F 1 Lucas Wendt (6-6 215, Racine, Wis.) – 4.8 ppg, 2.3 rpg
Sr. F 3 William Harvey (6-7 210, Albuquerque, N.M.) - 7.5 ppg, 3.7 rpg
R-Fr. G 10 Jacob MCNallan (6-2 190, Andover, Minn.) – 1.3 ppg, 0.9 rpg
Sr. F 14 Shane White (6-8 230, Rhinelander, Wis.) – 3.6 ppg, 3.3 rpg

#5StoryLines
1.Can the Golden Eagles get the same type of production that they got against St. Cloud State?
2.Can UMC shut down the back court of Sharif Black and Jai'Vionne Green
3.Will Gable Smith and Connor Gamble have follow up performances like they had against SCSU?
4.Will Harrison Cleary continue his hot start to the season?
5.Can UMC shut down Ben Best in the post?

#TheBlockMaster
UMC redshirt sophomore Gable Smith set the single-game mark with his career high of seven blocks on Saturday against St. Cloud State. Smith added strong offense with his normal repertoire of strong defensive play. He tallied a career high of 17 points on 5-of-7 from the field. In addition, he helped get two St. Cloud State post players in foul trouble which helped change what the Huskies were able to do inside. Smith will look to build on his performance as he heads into Tuesday.

#XMarksTheSpot
UMC senior Xavier Hall made one of the biggest plays of his career on the defensive end in the final seconds against St. Cloud State. Knowing Gage Davis of the Huskies would try to get to the lane, Hall got into his way and drew an opportune charge call to give the ball back to UMC. The play ended up being a major one in the scope of things as they went on to win 92-89 over St. Cloud State.

#TakeAGamble
UMC redshirt freshman Connor Gamble continues to come on for the Golden Eagles. The sharp shooter from Stillwater, Minn., had quite possible his best game of the season with 18 points on 5-of-7 from the field and 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. Gamble has averaged 10 points per game over the last five for UMC. He is shooting 42.9 percent from beyond the arc this season. He will continue to grow as a shooter and an all-around player if he continues to mature and develop his game.

#VeryCleary
UMC freshman Harrison Cleary has moved down to No. 2 in scoring in the NSIC behind Gage Davis, but he continues to be a dominant force for the Golden Eagles. Cleary is averaging 20.6 points per game on the season. He is shooting 48.1 percent from the field and 37.0 percent from beyond the arc this season. Cleary is coming off of 26 points on 8-of-18 from the field in a win over St. Cloud State

#CardiacKids
The Golden Eagles have become the "Heart Attack Kids" this season as they have had three games come down to the final seconds. Two of those games (Bemidji State and St. Cloud State) have gone in their favor. The third went in favor of Minnesota State University Moorhead on an Ayob Ayob last second three-pointer. Xavier Hall's charge and Harrison Cleary's free throws were huge in Saturday's win, while a Gable Smith free throw and block led UMC to the win over Bemidji State Dec. 15.

#Tidbits
-The Golden Eagles continue to grow as a team as they head into the last two months of the season. UMC is 6-9 (2-7 NSIC) entering the weekend. They have already surpassed last season's win total and they are just one win shy of tying the mark set by Dan Weisse's team in his first year with seven wins overall. The Golden Eagles continue to grow as a program and have been competitive in the league all year long. They continue to look for added a consistency and 40 minutes of optimum effort, which they were able to get on Saturday against St. Cloud State.

-UMC comes in averaging 73.0 points per game, while they are giving up 76.5 to their opponents. The Golden Eagles are shooting 45.5 percent from the field and 36.4 percent from beyond the arc. UMC needs to continue to improve their free throw percentage, as they are just shooting 66.3 percent on the year.
-The Golden Eagles picked up an 82-81 win over Bemidji State in the final seconds of the game at Lysaker Gymnasium Dec. 15. The win was stamped by a Gable Smith free throw and block in the final seconds. UMC was led in the game by 34 points from Harrison Cleary, while Chase Knickerbocker had the best game of his career with 24 points. UMC shot 47.6 percent from the field and 44.0 percent from beyond the arc.

-Bemidji State was led the last time out by 22 points from both Jai'Vionne Green and Ben Best. Sharif Black added 17 for the Beavers. BSU shot 53.7 percent from the field and 36.4 percent from beyond the arc.

-Bemidji State comes into the season with a 4-10 mark on the year. They are coming off of a win over Minnesota Duluth. BSU has changed their line-up a bit as they have been without freshman Peyton Dibble. Junior guard Christian Pekarek has moved back into the starting line-up in his absence.

- The Beavers are led by freshman Jai'Vionne Green, who is averaging 17.4 points per game. Green is a sharp-shooter as he is hitting 50 percent from beyond the arc this season. In the post, BSU looks to senior Ben Best, who is tallying 12.2 points per game. Sharif Black comes in averaging 13.9 points per game for the Beavers.

-Bemidji State is averaging 77.2 points per game, while giving up 80.1 points per game. BSU is shooting 46.3 percent from field and 36.8 percent from beyond the arc.