CROOKSTON, Minn. – A Luis Ricci Maia miss would slip through the hands of several University of Minnesota Crookston men's basketball players to Nathaniel Moore who sank a last second jumper as Minot State University clipped the Golden Eagles in overtime 75-73.

Minnesota Crookston struggled out of the gate as they trailed 38-25 to Minot State. The Golden Eagles would come out of the break with great energy on both ends as they outscored the Beavers 43-30 in the second half. The Golden Eagles would be able to force the overtime period on a layup from Harrison Cleary (Fr., G, Oak Creek, Wis.) with 48 seconds left. Both teams would have chances in regulation but neither would seize the day as the Golden Eagles and Beavers went into overtime tied up 68-68. Minot State would edge Minnesota Crookston 7-5 in the overtime period.

"We can't come out the way we did in the first half," said Head Coach Dan Weisse. "We had no energy. We challenged our guys at the half to come out with energy in the second half. When you don't have energy it is hard to get stops. They were able to get the ball wherever they wanted it in the first half. I give us credit that we clamped down in the second half. We played much better and battled but ultimately we have to be able to secure the rebound on that last play and we lost."

The Golden Eagles fall to 7-19 (3-17 NSIC). Minnesota Crookston remains knotted up with University of Minnesota Duluth for a tie for seventh place in the NSIC North. Minnesota Duluth wraps up the season on Saturday against No. 21 Minnesota State University Moorhead. A win over U-Mary and a loss for UMD to MSU Moorhead would give the No. 7 seed to the Golden Eagles. A loss for both teams gives the seed to the Bulldogs as they swept the season series. A win for both teams also gives the edge to Minnesota Duluth. Upper Iowa University and Southwest Minnesota State University are currently battling for the No. 1 seed in the NSIC South.

It was a tale of two halves for Minnesota Crookston as they shot just 11-of-30 for 36.7 percent from the field in the first half. UMC would shoot 17-of-27 for 63.0 percent in the second half. The Golden Eagles were 5-of-6 from beyond the arc and 4-of-4 from the charity stripe in the second half. UMC would finish the game shooting 29-of-63 for 46.0 percent. They were 8-of-18 from behind the three-point line for 44.4 percent and 7-of-10 from the free throw line for 70 percent.

Minnesota Crookston had great balance on the game with four players tallying double-figure scoring. Cleary led the way with 24 points on 8-of-20 from the field, 2-of-4 from beyond the arc and 6-of-6 from the charity stripe. Connor Gamble (R-Fr., G, Stillwater, Minn.) came off of the bench for 14 points and six boards. Gable Smith (R-So., F, Lodi, Wis.) chipped in with 12 points and four blocks. Chase Knickerbocker (So., G/F, Annandale, Minn.) added 10 points and seven rebounds.

Seniors Xavier Hall (G, Woodbury, Minn.) and Riley Rice (F/C, Mullen, Neb.) gave the Golden Eagles great energy, especially in the second half, on both ends of the floor. Hall would finish with four points and three rebounds, while Rice had four assists.

Minot State looked to Tyler Rudolph, who has been dominant against Minnesota Crookston this season. Rudolph had a double-double of 32 points and 16 points on 12-of-24 from the field and 5-of-9 from beyond the arc. Moore would come off of the bench for 12 points on 5-of-7 from the field. Russ Davis chipped in 11 points. Nathan Mertens would move the ball well for the Beavers as he finished with eight assists.

The Beavers were 29-of-65 from the field for 44.6 percent. They were 12-of-23 from beyond the arc for 52.2 percent and 5-of-5 for 100 percent from the charity stripe.

Minot State would take a 21-10 lead with 9:54 remaining in the first half after a Rudolph jumper. A Rudolph bucket would push the lead out to 23-10. UMC would cut the lead to 26-17 after a 7-3 run led by a Smith bucket. The Beavers would be able to hold off the Golden Eagles as they went up 34-19 following a Davis triple. Minot State would go into the break with the 38-25 lead.

The Beavers opened up the second half on a 4-0 run led by baskets from Rudolph and Davis. The Beavers would continue to build their lead as a basket from Stevan Jovanovic made it 44-27 with 17:52 left in regulation.

Minnesota Crookston would use an 8-0 run stamped by a Chase Johnson (Fr., F, La Crosse, Wis.) dunk to pull back within 44-35. Minot State would fend off the Golden Eagles for the moment with a trey from Rudolph to make it 47-35. The Beavers would continue to lead 51-37 after a jumper from Moore.

The Golden Eagles would then respond with a 10-0 run led a pair of three-pointers from Gamble to pull within 51-47 with 8:42 left in regulation. A Rudolph bucket would push the lead back out to 53-47 for the Beavers. UMC would then use a layup from Smith and a triple from Gamble to pull within one at 53-52 with 6:34 left in the game.

UMC would continue to stay in striking distance for the next couple of minutes. The Golden Eagles would take the lead 63-62 on a Knickerbocker jumper with 2:06 left in regulation. Minot State responded with a three-pointer from Rudolph to take the lead back 65-63. UMC would respond again as Cleary nailed a triple to make it 66-65. A Moore three-pointer would tip the score back in Minot State's favor 68-66 with 48 seconds remaining. Cleary would respond with a layup to knot it up 68-68.

 Ricci Maia would miss a chance at the hoop for the Beavers giving UMC the last shot of regulation. Cleary would take a three-pointer from the top of the key but it would miss. Gamble would be able to get the offensive board and would put up a short jumper but it would also be errant as regulation ended with a 68-68 tie.

UMC would take the 70-68 advantage early on in overtime on a pair of free throws from Cleary. Rudolph responded with an old-fashioned three-point play to go ahead 71-70. The Beavers would add to the lead to make it 73-70 as Mertens hit a layup.

The Golden Eagles would respond and knot the game up 73-73 with a Cleary three-pointer with 1:44 left in overtime. Both teams would get a chance but would miss their first opportunities. Minot State would then get the last chance. 

Ricci Maia would put up the jumper and several UMC players had their hands on the ball but it would find its way to Moore. The Minot State guard would put the jumper as the horn sounded and it would fall as the Beavers gave UMC their second buzzer-beating loss of the season.

Minnesota Crookston continues to show signs of being right there, but they still are looking to get over the hump as they have lost 10 games by 10 or less points this season.

Minnesota Crookston will wrap up the season Sat., Feb. 18 against University of Mary at 6 p.m.