BEMIDJI, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Crookston men's basketball team picked up their first sweep of Bemidji State University since four-straight wins against the Beavers in 1926 and 1927 with a 65-50 win Sat., Dec. 16 at BSU Gymnasium. The victory was also the first win at BSU Gymnasium for the Golden Eagles since Nov. 11, 1994. The sweep was also the first of an NSIC opponent for Minnesota Crookston since the 2004-05 season when they swept Minnesota State University Moorhead.

Minnesota Crookston used clutch defense in the second half as they limited Bemidji State to just 16 points in the second half. In addition the Golden Eagles stepped up on the boards where they outrebounded Bemidji State 27-16 in the second half. Minnesota Crookston closed the game on a 28-7 run in the final 12 minutes of the game.

Minnesota Crookston was known as the Northwest School of Agriculture when they upended what was then known as Bemidji State Teachers College in 1926 and 1927, the last two sweeps the school has picked up of BSU prior to Saturday.

The Golden Eagles improve to 6-6 (3-3 NSIC) with Saturday's win over Bemidji State. Minnesota Crookston has reached six wins the quickest the program has since the 2014-15 season when they picked up their sixth victory Jan. 2. Bemidji State falls to 5-6 (2-4 NSIC) with the loss to Minnesota Crookston.

The Golden Eagles were led by Harrison Cleary (So., G, Oak Creek, Wis.), who finished with 26 points on 8-of-22 from the field and 6-of-11 from beyond the arc. Cleary was a perfect 4-of-4 from the foul line. Chase Knickerbocker recorded a double-double with 11 points and 15 rebounds. Knickerbocker had seven second-half rebounds to help propel Minnesota Crookston to the win. Ben Juhl (Fr., G, Clive, Iowa) added 12 points and six boards.

Gable Smith (R-Jr., F, Lodi, Wis.) finished with four points, five rebounds and five blocks, while Javier Nicolau (So., F/C, Castellon, Spain) had five points and three boards.

Minnesota Crookston was 19-of-61 from the field for 31.1 percent. Their three-point shooting was crucial to their success as they went 10-of-23 for 43.5 percent. The Golden Eagles were 17-of-19 for 89.5 percent from the charity stripe.

The Golden Eagles turned the tables on the rebounding in the second half as they upended the Beavers on the boards 45-36. Bemidji State led on the boards in the first frame 20-18. Minnesota Crookston notched 13 offensive boards on the night, leading to 15 second-chance points.

Minnesota Crookston's shut-down defense in the second half limited the Beavers to just 6-of-26 from the field for 23.1 percent. Bemidji State was just 0-of-8 from beyond the arc in the second half and 4-of-5 for 80.0 percent from the charity stripe. BSU was 20-of-57 for 35.1 percent on the game. They shot 5-of-18 for 27.8 percent from behind the three-point line in Saturday's game.

The Beavers looked to 13 points and nine boards from Derek Thompson. Christian Pekarek added 10 points and four assists on the night. Jai'Vionne Green notched eight points and six boards. Sharif Black notched eight points, as well, while Logan Bader had six points and seven rebounds.

Minnesota Crookston raced out to a 15-6 lead out of the gate ignited by four three-pointers in the early going. Knickerbocker led the team with six points during the run. Bemidji State used a 6-0 run led by four points from Bader to pull within 15-12 with 12:18 left in the first half. Minnesota Crookston extended their lead back out to 17-12 with a pair of Juhl free throws. The Beavers countered with a 13-0 run ignited by eight points from Pekarek to take a 25-17 advantage. Bemidji State would extend their lead to 30-21 with a triple from Green. Minnesota Crookston used an 8-2 run to pull within 32-29 on an old-fashioned three-point play from Gabrys Sadaunykas (R-Fr., G, Vilnius, Lithuania). However, Jacob McNallan tilted the momentum back in favor of the Beavers as he hit a last second layup over Smith to push the lead to 34-29 at the break.

Minnesota Crookston looked to nine points and eight boards from Knickerbocker, who was 3-of-7 from the field and 2-of-3 from beyond the arc. Cleary added eight points and three boards, while Juhl notched three points. Sadaunykas came off the bench for three points. Smith had four first-half blocks.

The Golden Eagles were 10-of-30 from the field for 33.3 percent. They went 5-of-10 for 50.0 percent from beyond the arc and 4-of-4 for 100.0 percent from the charity stripe.

Bemidji State looked to 10 first half points from Pekarek, who added three assists. Green chipped in eight points and four boards. Black and McNallan added five points. Thompson led the Beavers on the boards with six rebounds.

Bemidji State was 14-of-31 for 45.2 percent in the first half. They were 5-of-10 from behind the three-point line and 4-of-4 for 100.0 percent from the foul line. BSU won the rebounding edge 20-18 in the first half.

The Beavers extended their lead to 38-29 early in the second half with back-to-back baskets from Thompson. Minnesota Crookston used a 5-0 run ignited by Cleary to pull within 38-34. Bemidji State came back with an old-fashioned three-point play from Thompson to extend the advantage to 41-34 with 14:34 remaining in the game.

The Golden Eagles came right back with an old-fashioned three-point play of their own from Juhl to cut the deficit to 41-37. Thompson countered with a basket to get the BSU lead back out to 43-37 with 12:39 left in the game. The Golden Eagles responded with an 8-2 run as they knotted the game up 45-45 on a Cleary trey. The Beavers responded with a Thompson basket to give them the lead back at 47-45.

Minnesota Crookston came right back with a 12-0 run to take the lead 57-47 guided by four points from Smith. The Golden Eagles would seal the win down the stretch following the crucial run as they took the victory 65-50 over Bemidji State.

The Golden Eagles will return to action Sat., Dec. 30 at 3:30 p.m. against Winona State University.