CROOKSTON, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Crookston had their second half comeback fall short in a 69-64 loss to University of Mary Fri., Jan. 19 at Lysaker Gymnasium. The Golden Eagles found themselves down by 14 points with 9:42 left in the game, however they made a late comeback on the Marauders. The Golden Eagles were able to cut the deficit to three points on a Ben Juhl (Fr., G, Clive, Iowa) jumper with 20 seconds left. Unfortunately U-Mary fended off the late rally as they came away with the victory.

Minnesota Crookston loses their fifth straight as they fall to 8-11 (5-8 NSIC) with Friday's loss. The Golden Eagles still remain on their best start in the NCAA Division II era. They need just one win to tie the program record for wins with nine, which was previously set during the 2000-01 season. U-Mary improves to 4-13 (2-11 NSIC) with the victory.

The Golden Eagles looked to 29 points from Harrison Cleary (So., G, Oak Creek, Wis.) on 8-of-16 from the field, 4-of-8 from beyond the arc and 9-of-10 from the charity stripe. Ben Juhl (Fr., G, Clive, Iowa) added four points. Josh Collins (Jr., F, Minneapolis, Minn.) added seven points, while Darin Viken (Jr., G, Fosston, Minn.) had six points. Gable Smith (R-Jr., F, Lodi, Wis.) led the team with nine boards.

Minnesota Crookston struggled from the field as they were 20-of-51 from the field for 39.2 percent. The Golden Eagles were 9-of-25 from beyond the arc for 36.0 percent and 15-of-20 from the foul line for 75.0 percent. Minnesota Crookston won the rebounding edge 34-32 on the night.

U-Mary was led offensively by 25 points from Jaylan White, who was 10-of-14 from the field and 3-of-3 from beyond the arc. Trevor Zacher added 13 points on 5-of-10 from the field. Keith Hunter added 10 points from the Marauders.

U-Mary was 25-of-58 from the field for 43.1 percent. The Marauders shot 5-of-17 from beyond the arc and 14-of-20 from the charity stripe.

Neither team did much on the offensive end as the score was just 23-17 at the break.

U-Mary got out to an early 7-0 lead led by five-straight point by White. Minnesota Crookston got on the board with a triple from Juhl as they cut the lead to 7-3. The Marauders pushed their lead to 12-4 on a Hunter basket. The Golden Eagles pulled within 14-12 on back-to-back triples from Cleary and Alan Hodge, Jr. (Jr., G, Dallas, Texas). Minnesota Crookston knotted the game up 14-14 with a Hodge bucket with 7:39 left in the first half.

The Marauders responded with a 5-0 run guided by a trey from Zacher and a trey from Tom Kubank as they moved their lead to 19-14. The Golden Eagles pulled within 19-17 on a Hodge three-pointer. U-Mary ended the half on a 4-0 run following buckets from Michael Gorder and Connor Hellebust.

Minnesota Crookston shot just 6-of-22 from the field in the first half for 27.3 percent. The Golden Eagles were 4-of-11 from beyond the arc for 36.4 percent and just 1-of-5 from the foul line for 20.0 percent.

U-Mary looked to six first-half points from White, while Kubank added five points.

The Marauders were 9-of-29 from the field for 29.0 percent. U-Mary was just 3-of-10 for 30.0 percent from beyond the arc. The Marauders were 2-of-2 from the charity stripe.

U-Mary opened the first half with a Zacher bucket to extend the lead to 25-17. Minnesota Crookston came back with back-to-back baskets from Cleary to cut the deficit to 25-21. The Marauders came right back with a Hunter bucket to move their lead to 27-21. The Golden Eagles came right back with a pair of free throws from Viken to cut the deficit to 27-23 with 16:41 remaining. U-Mary countered with a 4-0 run led by buckets from White and Zacher to move their advantage to 31-23. Minnesota Crookston was able to pull back within 31-26 on a Cleary triple. The Marauders responded with a 7-0 run to widen their advantage to 38-26. U-Mary would be able to extend their lead to a game-high 14-point lead with a basket from Hunter. Minnesota Crookston started making a dent in the lead with an 8-2 run guided by all eight points from Cleary as she cut the lead to 46-39. The Marauders stopped the run with a White jumper. Minnesota Crookston came right back with a free throw from Cleary and a trey from Juhl to cut the lead to 48-43 with 6:01 remaining in the game.

U-Mary fended off the Golden Eagles with back-to-back buckets from White to move the lead back out to 52-43. The Marauders would move their lead back out to 14 on a White three-pointer with 1:51 remaining. Minnesota Crookston made another charge as they went on a 6-0 run to cut the lead to 63-55 after a pair of Cleary free throws. Hellebust then hit two free throws to move the advantage for the Marauders to 65-55. Minnesota Crookston didn't give in as Viken converted a four-point play after nailing a three-pointer and a free throw to cut the lead to 65-59 with 39 seconds remaining. After a steal, Cleary would converted an old-fashioned three-point play to bring the Golden Eagles within three points with 33 seconds left. The Marauders fought back with a pair of White free throws. The Golden Eagles were able to come back within three points following a Juhl jumper with 20 seconds remaining. U-Mary hung on for the win after free throws from Hellebust and Kreklow as they won 69-64.

Minnesota Crookston will return to action against Minot State University Sat., Jan. 20 at 6 p.m. at Lysaker Gymnasium.