SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – A second half charge by the University of Minnesota Crookston men's basketball team fell short as they dropped a road game to University of Sioux Falls 68-56 Sat., Jan. 13 at Stewart Center in Sioux Falls, S.D. The Golden Eagles were down eight points with 12 minutes left in the game, but they cut the deficit to just one point with under seven minutes remaining. However, Sioux Falls closed the game on a 20-9 run as the Cougars came away with the win.

Minnesota Crookston falls to 8-10 (5-7 NSIC) after Saturday's loss. The Golden Eagles have lost four-straight road games. They have struggled on the road this season as they are just 1-8 away from Lysaker Gymnasium. Minnesota Crookston is still off to their best start in the program's NCAA Division II history. The Golden Eagles remain in fourth place in the NSIC standings. They are just ahead of Bemidji State University and University of Minnesota Duluth, who have closed the gap in recent weeks. 

Sioux Falls improves to 11-6 (7-5 NSIC) with Saturday's win. The Golden Eagles and Cougars split the season series as Minnesota Crookston picked up a non-conference win over USF Nov. 18 in Crookston, Minn. 79-74.

The Golden Eagles were paced by Alan Hodge, Jr. (Jr., G, Dallas, Texas) who came off the bench for 23 points and seven boards. Hodge was 10-of-20 from the field. Gable Smith (R-Jr., F, Lodi, Wis.) added 11 points, seven boards and four blocks.

Sioux Falls did a strong job defensively on the league's leading-scorer Harrison Cleary (So., G, Oak Creek, Wis.). Cleary was held to a season-low nine points on 4-of-13 from the field. Ben Juhl (Fr., G, Clive, Iowa) added seven points.

The Golden Eagles were 24-of-60 from the field for 40.0 percent. They were just 4-of-16 for 25.0 percent from beyond the arc and 3-of-4 for 75.0 percent from the foul line.

Sioux Falls had four players scored in double-figures on the night. USF looked to 15 points from Drew Maschoff on 5-of-9 from the field and 3-of-5 from beyond the arc. Trevon Evans added 13 points and seven boards and five assists, while Aaron Rothermund chipped in 13 points. Drew Guebert tallied 12 points and six rebounds.

The Cougars shot 26-of-63 from the field for 41.3 percent. USF was 7-of-22 from beyond the arc for 31.8 percent and 9-of-11 for 81.8 percent from the charity stripe. USF controlled the glass as they notched 42 rebounds to just 33 for Minnesota Crookston.

The Golden Eagles had a 5-2 lead early on after a Juhl trey. USF countered with a 5-0 run paced by a three-pointer from Guebert as they took the 7-5 advantage. Minnesota Crookston came right back and knotted the game up 7-7 with a Cleary basket. The Golden Eagles and Cougars would trade baskets until USF moved to a 14-11 lead following a Maschoff triple. Minnesota Crookston responded with a 5-0 run guided by four points from Hodge as they took a 16-14 advantage. Sioux Falls came right back with a 5-0 rally guided by a Maschoff trey as they took a 19-16 lead. The Golden Eagles pulled back within one at 19-18 as Cleary dropped in a basket. A Zach Wessels bucket would move the lead back out to 21-18 for Sioux Falls with 3:35 left in the first half. The Golden Eagles would come back and tie the game up 23-23 as Hodge hit a three-pointer. USF ended the first half with a Guebert basket as they went into the locker room with a 25-23 lead.

Hodge led Minnesota Crookston with nine points on 4-of-7 from the field. He added five boards. Smith added five points, five boards and four blocks for the Golden Eagles. Cleary chipped in four points in the first half on 2-of-5 from the field.

The Golden Eagles were 11-of-31 from the field for 35.5 percent in the first half. They were 3-of-10 from beyond the arc for 30.0 percent and just 1-of-2 from the foul line for 50.0 percent.

Sioux Falls looked to 10 points and four assists from Maschoff. Guebert chipped in 10 points. USF was 14-of-39 from the field for 35.9 percent. The Cougars were 5-of-13 from beyond the arc or 38.5 percent and were just 0-of-1 from the charity stripe.

USF owned the rebounding edge 24-21 in the first half guided by eight boards from Teathloach Pal.

Sioux Falls raced out of the half with a  Rothermund three-pointer as they extended their lead to 28-23. Minnesota Crookston got within 31-28 with a Cleary triple with 16:37 left in the game. USF would be able to extend their lead to 39-34 with a pair of Rothermund free throws. The Golden Eagles pulled back within 39-36 with a Hodge basket. Evans came back with five-straight points for USF as they extended their lead to 44-36 with 12:17 remaining in the game. Minnesota Crookston cut the deficit back down to 46-40 with a Javier Nicolau (Jr., F/C, Castellon, Spain) bucket with 9:29 remaining. A Rothermund basket moved the lead back out to eight with 8:40 left in the game. Minnesota Crookston responded with a major charge as a 7-0 run brought the Golden Eagles within 48-47 with 6:57 left in the game. The run was paced by seven points from Hodge.

USF countered in a big spot as they used a 7-0 run of their own to move the lead back out to 55-47. Sioux Falls was guided by a Maschoff triple. Minnesota Crookston would be able to get the lead back down to six at 59-53 after a Hodge bucket with 1:14 left in the game. However, that would be as close as the Golden Eagles would get as their run fell short. Sioux Falls was 5-of-6 from the charity stripe down the stretch as they took the 68-56 victory.

Minnesota Crookston will return home after the four-game road stand as they will take on University of Mary Fri., Jan. 19 at 8 p.m. at Lysaker Gymnasium.