CROOKSTON, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Crookston overcame a 14-point half-time deficit to upend University of Sioux Falls 79-74 in a non-conference thriller Sat., Nov. 18 at Lysaker Gymnasium. The Golden Eagles outscored the Cougars 55-36 in the second half ignited by the play of their backcourt with Harrison Cleary scoring 18, Alan Hodge, Jr. 16 and Chase Knickerbocker 14 to overcome a Sioux Falls team that came into Saturday with an unblemished 3-0 mark.

The Golden Eagles improve to 2-2 on the season with Saturday's win. Sioux Falls drops to 3-1 on the season. The game was a non-conference tilt featuring NSIC opponents. USF and Minnesota Crookston will play in conference action Jan. 13 in Sioux Falls, S.D.

Minnesota Crookston looked to 33 points from Cleary, who was 10-of-18 from the field. Cleary also set up the offense with his impressive passing as he had eight assists to just two turnovers in a fast-paced game at Lysaker Gymnasium. Cleary was a perfect 12-of-12 from the charity stripe. He chipped in six 
rebounds. Knickerbocker was lights out from behind the three-point line in the second half with 14 of his 17 points coming in the final period. Knickerbocker finished the game 6-of-13 from the field and 5-of-9 from beyond the arc. He chipped in six rebounds. Hodge finished with 20 points on 5-of-14 from the field. He was 8-of-11 from the charity stripe.

Gable Smith (R-Jr., F/C, Lodi, Wis.) led Minnesota Crookston on the boards with nine rebounds. He added four points, three assists and two blocks.

Minnesota Crookston improved their defense Saturday as they held the Cougars to 74 points after coming into the game giving up 84.3 points per game. Sioux Falls came into the game averaging 93.3 points. The 74 points was a season-low for the Cougars.

The Golden Eagles shot 25-of-56 from the field for 44.6 percent. They were 8-of-21 for 38.1 percent from beyond the arc. Minnesota Crookston also had crucial shooting from the free throw line where they were 21-of-27 for 77.8 percent. The Golden Eagles were able to overcome their half-time deficit with their hot shooting in the second half. Minnesota Crookston went 15-of-29 for 51.7 percent from the field in the second half. They were 5-of-10 from beyond the arc and 20-of-24 from the foul line in the final frame.

Sioux Falls looked to Drew Guebert, who had 21 points and five rebounds despite being in foul trouble for a good portion of the second half. The Golden Eagles held reining NSIC South Player of the Week Trevon Evans to five points in the first half. Evans finished the game with 14 points and five boards. He also had five turnovers. Jarrod Walton chipped in 14 points. The Cougars' facilitator Zach Wessels had five points, six rebounds and four assists.

Sioux Falls shot 26-of-60 for 43.3 percent on the game. They were 8-of-14 for 57.1 percent from beyond the arc and 14-of-21 for 66.7 percent from the free throw line. The Cougars won the battle of the glass 39-33. Minnesota Crookston forced 15 turnovers by USF on the day.

USF jetted out to an 8-2 advantage guided by a four-point play from Guebert. The Golden Eagles came back and took the 9-8 lead with 15:39 remaining guided by six points from Cleary and a three-pointer from Hodge. Minnesota Crookston extended their advantage to 11-8 before Sioux Falls would reclaim the lead 12-11 on a Tom Aase basket. The Golden Eagles built off the bucket to extend their lead to 18-11 on a Walton layup.

The Golden Eagles would close their deficit back down to four at 20-16 with a Cleary basket. USF responded with a 5-0 run to move their lead out to 25-16. The Cougars extended their lead to 33-19 paced by five points from Evans and a trey from Walton. Minnesota Crookston would cut the lead to 33-23 with 3:27 left in the first half as Cleary finished a layup.

The Cougars went into the break with the 14-point advantage as they led 38-24.

Minnesota Crookston struggled to get their offense going against a strong USF defense in the first half. The Golden Eagles were kept in the half by the play of Cleary, who had 15 points on 7-of-9 from the field. Hodge added four points, while Knickerbocker added three points. Both Hodge and Knickerbocker struggled in the first half going a combined 2-of-12 from the field.

Minnesota Crookston shot 10-of-27 for 37.0 percent from the field and just 3-of-11 for 27.3 percent from behind the three-point line.

Guebert lead Sioux Falls with 13 points, while Evans had five points. Walton added six points.

The Cougars would continue to hold a double-digit lead for the first five minutes of the second half. Minnesota Crookston got the lead down to five with an 8-0 run propelled by back-to-back three-pointers from Knickerbocker as they cut the USF lead to 46-41 with 14:22 remaining in the game.

Knickerbocker continued to light it up from downtown as he knotted up the game 48-48 with 11:40 remaining in the game. USF took the lead 50-48 on a Walton basket. However, the Golden Eagles came right back with two free throws from Cleary to tie it up 50-50. USF took the lead back and moved it to 56-52 with a pair of Walton free throws.

Minnesota Crookston did not give in as Hodge connected on a triple to cut the lead to 56-55 with 7:09 left in the half. The Golden Eagles tilted the lead in their favor with two free throws from Cleary to make it 57-56. Two free throws from Evans and a basket from Guebert quickly gave the lead back to USF 60-57 with 4:34 remaining.

The Golden Eagles used four-straight points to take the lead back 61-60 as Smith hit a jumper in the corner with 3:36 left in the game. Guebert came right back with a basket to make it 62-61 in favor of the Cougars.

That is when Smith came through with one of the plays of the game as he read a pass and picked it off, running the length of the court putting a stamp on the play with a crowd-igniting dunk. Smith came through again on the defensive end, taking a charge and giving the ball back to the Golden Eagles. Four free throws from Cleary would extend the Minnesota Crookston lead to 67-62 with 1:42 left in the game.

Sioux Falls used free throws from Walton and Guebert to pull back within 67-66 with 1:29 remaining. On the ensuing possession, Darin Viken (Jr., G, Fosston, Minn.) came up with the play of the final two minutes as the local product beat out USF in the post for a crucial offensive rebound and put it back in to move the Golden Eagle lead to 69-66 with 1:16 remaining. Viken is the epitome of a hard-worker, who does the little things on and off the court to help his team.

A fast-break bucket from Hodge on the next Golden Eagle possession moved the lead out to 72-66. The Cougars tried to piece away at the lead, however Minnesota Crookston would hold USF off for a big 79-74 win over their NSIC foes.

The Golden Eagles will return to action Tues., Nov. 21 as they hit the road to face University of Jamestown at 7 p.m. in Jamestown, N.D.