MARSHALL, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Crookston men's basketball team attempted to come back from a 21-point deficit in the second half but fell just short 82-75 to Southwest Minnesota State University. The Golden Eagles came within 62-58 with 10:41 remaining and 78-74 with 58 seconds left, but the Mustangs ultimately held off two charges by Minnesota Crookston. Minnesota Crookston won the second half 44-36 over Southwest Minnesota State.

The Golden Eagles fall to 8-9 (5-6 NSIC) with Friday's loss. Minnesota Crookston has lost three-straight but they continue to be off to their best start in the program's history of NCAA Division II. The Golden Eagles need just one more win to tie the school record of nine wins set during the 2000-01 season. Southwest Minnesota State improved to 12-5 (8-3 NSIC) with the win. The Mustangs have had Minnesota Crookston's number as they move to 29-1 in the NCAA Division II era. The Golden Eagles continue to struggle away from Lysaker Gymnasium as they are 1-7 on the road this season.

The Golden Eagles were led by Harrison Cleary (So., G, Oak Creek, Wis.), who had 19 points on 7-of-15 from the field. He was 3-of-6 from beyond the arc. Ben Juhl (Fr., G, Clive, Iowa) added 17 points on 6-of-10 from the field. Alan Hodge, Jr. (Jr., G, Dallas, Texas) came off the bench for 14 points and seven rebounds. Gable Smith (R-Jr., F, Lodi, Wis.) added 10 points and six boards. Josh Collins (Jr., F, Minneapolis, Minn.) chipped in eight points, six rebounds and five assists.
The Golden Eagles shot 27-of-63 from the field for 42.9 percent. Minnesota Crookston was 9-of-21 for 42.9 percent from beyond the arc. The Golden Eagles were 12-of-15 for 80 percent from the foul line.

Southwest Minnesota State had five players score in double-figures as Minnesota Crookston struggled to shut down the offense of the Mustangs Friday. Ryan Bruggeman led the team with 22 points on 9-of-11 from the field. Taylor Schafer came off the bench for 16 points on 6-of-8 from the field and 4-of-5 from beyond the arc. Carter Kirk added 15 points and eight boards. K.J. Davis and Michael Lee each chipped in 12 points.

The Mustangs shot 33-of-57 from the field for 57.9 percent. Southwest Minnesota State was 9-of-19 for 47.4 percent from behind the three-point line. The Mustangs were 7-of-10 from the foul line for 70 percent. Southwest Minnesota State won the rebounding edge 32-28.

The Golden Eagles got out to an early 7-3 lead as Juhl hit a three-pointer with 17:39 left in the first half. The Mustangs responded with a 4-0 run as Davis basket tied the game up 7-7. Minnesota Crookston took a 12-9 lead as Cleary drained a three-pointer. Nick Dufault came back on the other end with a triple of his own to knot the game up 12-12. The Golden Eagles came back with a 5-0 run as Smith hit a jumper and Hodge nailed a trey to give Minnesota Crookston a leg up 17-12. Schafer helped Southwest Minnesota State pull back within 17-15 with 13:25 left in the first half. Davis knotted the game up 17-17 for the Mustangs. Darin Viken (Jr., G, Fosston, Minn.) responded with a three-pointer for Minnesota Crookston to put the Golden Eagles up 20-17. Southwest Minnesota State countered with a 7-0 run led by a Lee three-pointer as they took the advantage 24-20. The Mustangs moved their lead to 26-22 on a Bruggeman basket. The Golden Eagles pulled back within two points at 26-24 as Cleary found Smith for the dunk with 8:43 left in the half.

However, Southwest Minnesota State held off the charge as they used a 10-0 run to move their lead out to 36-24 with 6:38 left in the half. The Mustangs were paced by five points from Schafer. Minnesota Crookston would stop the run as Smith made a basket to cut the lead to 36-26. Schafer responded with back-to-back treys for Southwest Minnesota State to extend their lead to 42-26. Juhl ended a four-minute scoreless streak for the Golden Eagles as he hit 1-of-2 from the charity stripe to bring Minnesota Crookston within 42-27. Kirk responded with a basket for the Mustangs to extend the lead out to 44-27 with 2:09 left in the frame. Javier Nicolau (Jr., F/C, Castellon, Spain) hit a basket and Collins hit a pair of free throws to bring the Golden Eagles back within 44-31. Bruggeman stopped the run with a bucket for the Mustangs to make it 46-31. Southwest Minnesota State went into the break with the 46-31 lead.  

Minnesota Crookston looked to eight points from Smith. Cleary added seven in the first half. The Golden Eagles shot 11-of-30 for 36.7 percent from the field. They were 4-of-10 for 40 percent from beyond the arc and were 5-of-6 from the foul line for 83.3 percent.

Southwest Minnesota State shot lights out in the opening half as they were 19-of-33 for 57.6 percent. The Mustangs were 7-of-12 from behind the three-point line for 58.3 percent. They were just 1-of-2 from the charity stripe.

Minnesota Crookston won the rebounding edge in the opening half 18-14 paced by five from Collins and four from Smith.

Juhl opened the first half with a bucket to pull the Golden Eagles within 46-33. Davis and Collins traded baskets before the Mustangs used an 8-0 run guided by a pair of treys from Lee to push the advantage out to 56-35. Minnesota Crookston started to move their way back into the fray as they used an 11-0 run as Cleary trey pulled the Golden Eagles within 58-48 with 14:37 left in the game.  Minnesota Crookston extended their run to 13-0 when Juhl hit a jumper to bring the Golden Eagles within 58-50. Bruggeman halted the run with a basket for the Mustangs to extend the lead out to 60-50. Hodge would come right back for Minnesota Crookston to cut the deficit to 60-53. Kirk hit a basket from Southwest Minnesota State to push the lead back out to 62-53, but the Golden Eagles again had a quick response as Juhl sank a three to bring the game within 62-56 with 11:08 remaining. Hodge followed up the three with a pair of free throws to cut even further into the SMSU lead and make it 62-58.

The Mustangs used four-straight points from Bruggeman to push their lead back out to 66-58 with 9:17 remaining. Southwest Minnesota State extended their run to 6-0 with a David basket to make it 68-58. Smith stopped the run as Minnesota Crookston cut the lead to 68-60. The Mustangs responded with a 4-0 run to push the lead back out to 72-60. A pair of Cleary jumpers brought the Golden Eagles back within 72-64. A Bruggeman jumper put SMSU back up 74-64, but Hodge came right back with a triple for Minnesota Crookston to bring the Golden Eagles back within 74-67. A pair of Juhl free throws cut the lead to 74-69 with 2:55 left in the game. Minnesota Crookston had two opportunities on their following possession but came up empty. Southwest Minnesota State got baskets from Kirk and Bruggeman to extend their lead to 78-69. The Golden Eagles did not give in as Cleary sank a three to bring Minnesota Crookston back within 78-72 with 1:12 remaining. After a Collins steal, he found Hodge who would also be fouled on the play. The junior converted the old-fashioned three-point play to bring the Golden Eagles within 78-75 with 58 seconds remaining. Bruggeman made the late charge more difficult for the Golden Eagles with a jumper to extend the lead to 80-75. Cleary would have a shot at the other end that would go errant forcing Minnesota Crookston to foul. Bruggeman would ice the game with a pair of free throws as Southwest Minnesota State won 82-75.  

Minnesota Crookston will return to action Sat., Jan. 13 at 6 p.m. against University of Sioux Falls at the Stewart Center.