ABERDEEN, S.D. – No. 16 Northern State University overcame a four-point halftime deficit to upend the University of Minnesota Crookston 76-64 at Wachs Arena in Aberdeen, S.D. The Golden Eagles held the 33-29 lead at the break, but the Wolves used a 37-24 run to close the game to come away with the victory. Northern State scored 47 second-half points after being held to just 29 by the Minnesota Crookston defense in the first half.
"It was really two things tonight that led to their win," said Head Coach Dan Weisse. "It was the offensive rebounds and the straight line drive opportunities that we gave Northern State. By straight line drive I mean that they have straight drives to the basket and we aren't able to get any help over. We really need to work on that because the straight line drive really hurt us in both games this weekend. I'm really optimistic after this weekend though. We let one slip away last night against a good MSU Moorhead team but we did some really good things in both games this weekend. Our team can get better though and I am excited to see what we are able to do moving forward. I think teams around the league are fully aware that Minnesota Crookston men's basketball has changed and that we are team that will give our opponents fits night in and night out in this league."
The Wolves improve to 11-1 (5-0 NSIC) with Satuday's win. The only loss for Northern State came at the hands of No. 1 Northwest Missouri State University Nov. 12 in St. Joseph, Mo. The Golden Eagles fall to 5-6 (2-3 NSIC) with the loss. Minnesota Crookston is still off to their best start since the 2014-15 season when the Golden Eagles went 6-5 to open the year.
The Golden Eagles looked to 19 points from Harrison Cleary (So., G, Oak Creek, Wis.) on 8-of-20 from the field. Cleary added three assists on the night. Ben Juhl (Fr., G, Clive, Iowa) added 15 points on 6-of-9 from the field. Gable Smith (R-Jr., F, Lodi, Wis.) finished with 13 points and five blocks for Minnesota Crookston. Alan Hodge, Jr. (Jr., G, Dallas, Texas) notched nine points, four rebounds and four assists.
Minnesota Crookston shot 26-of-56 from the field for 46.4 percent. They finished 5-of-12 for 41.7 percent from behind the three-point line. The Golden Eagles were 7-of-9 for 77.8 percent from the foul line. The Golden Eagles had 13 turnovers on the game.
Northern State won the game on the glass where they dominated the rebounds 47-22, including 21 offensive boards. The Wolves had five players score in double-figures on the night. Carter Evans came off the bench for 18 points and seven boards. Ian Smith added 18 points and five boards for Northern State. Darin Peterka chipped in 13 points and five rebounds, while D.J. Pollard had 13 points and six rebounds. Logan Doyle rounded out the double-figure scorers with 10 points and six rebounds.
The Wolves shot 30-of-67 from the field for 44.8 percent. Northern State struggled from beyond the arc where they connected on just 1-of-13 shots for 7.7 percent. The Wolves were 15-of-19 for 78.9 percent from the foul line. Northern State finished with 10 turnovers on the evening.
The Golden Eagles raced out to a 5-0 advantage following a triple from Hodge and a basket from Cleary. Northern State responded and tied the game up 7-7 after a 7-0 with Peterka accounting for all seven points. Minnesota Crookston fought right back with an 8-0 run of their own propelled by four points from Knickerbocker to make it 15-7 with 11:20 left in the half.
Northern State came back with an 8-0 run of their own to knot the game up at 15-15 following an Evans jumper. Minnesota Crookston halted the run with a Cleary jumper to push the Golden Eagle advantage to 17-15. Northern State bounced back with a 6-0 run ignited by Ian Smith as they took the 21-17 lead with 5:51 left in the first half.
Minnesota Crookston came right back and again took the lead in the see-saw opening period as a four point spurt by Cleary ignited a 6-0 run to make it 23-21 Golden Eagles. Back-to-back buckets from Evans tilted the lead in the favor of Northern State 25-23 with 2:29 remaining in the frame. The Golden Eagles responded with an 8-0 run led by two 3-pointers from Juhl to put Minnesota Crookston up 31-25. Northern State used a 4-0 run to cut the lead to two at 31-29. However, the Golden Eagles used a pair of free throws to make it 33-29 going into the break.
The Golden Eagles shot 13-of-26 from the field for 50.0 percent in the first half. Minnesota Crookston was 3-of-6 the arc for 50.0 percent and an unblemished 4-of-4 from the charity stripe.
The Golden Eagles looked to 10 points from Cleary on 4-of-10 from the field. Juhl added eight points on 3-of-3 from the field and 2-of-2 from behind the three-point line. Gable Smith chipped in six points for Minnesota Crookston.
Northern State was led by 12 points and five boards off of the bench from Evans. Peterka added seven points on 3-of-8 from the field, while Ian Smith had six points.
The Wolves shot just 14-of-37 for 37.8 percent from the field. Northern State went just 1-of-8 from beyond the arc for 12.5 percent.
The Wolves opened the first half on a 6-2 run as they knotted the game up 35-35 on an Ian Smith jumper with just over 17 minutes left in the game. Minnesota Crookston reclaimed the lead as Gable Smith connected on 1-of-2 from the foul lane. Northern State was able to move back into the lead as Gabe King hit a pair of free throws to make it 37-36 with 16:02 remaining. An Ian Smith pull-up jumper made it a 39-36 lead for the Wolves. A bucket from Gable Smith and a Javier Nicolau (So., F/C, Castellon, Spain) dunk put Minnesota Crookston back on top 40-39 with 14:45 left in the game.
Northern State came back with a 10-0 run guided by four points apiece from Pollard and Peterka as the Wolves led 49-40 with 12:20 remaining. Minnesota Crookston pulled back within six points as Juhl hit a trey to make it 49-43. The Golden Eagles would be unable to get it closer for the moment as Northern State pushed the advantage to 57-47 with a Peterka jumper. An Ian Smith layup and two free throws from Pollard pushed the lead out to 63-49 with 6:45 remaining.
The Golden Eagles used a quick run with crucial baskets from Gable Smith and Hodge to cut the lead down to 10 at 63-53. Northern State stopped the run with a jumper from Pollard to lengthen the margin to 65-53. Doyle connected on 1-of-2 from the line to make it 66-53 with 4:25 left in the game. The Golden Eagles cut the lead to 66-55 on a Juhl jumper. The 11 points would be as close as Minnesota Crookston would get down the stretch as Northern State took the 76-64 win.
Minnesota Crookston returns to the court Sat., Dec. 16 at 3 p.m. at Bemidji State University.
