MANKATO, Minn. – Harrison Cleary (So., G, Oak Cree, Wis.) scored a career-high 46 points as the University of Minnesota Crookston men's basketball team fell just short of upending Minnesota State University-Mankato 80-78. 

The Golden Eagles knotted the game up with eight second left as Gable Smith (R-Jr., F, Lodi, Wis.) hit his first three-pointer of the season to tie it up 78-78. Charlie Brown got to the hoop and got a basket with 1.5 seconds remaining for the Mavericks to make it 80-78. The Golden Eagles had two shots at the hoop as the first was deflected off a Minnesota State player. On the second one with 0.3 seconds left Josh Collins (Jr., F, Minneapolis, Minn.) was called on the push-off as Minnesota State would hang on for the victory.

The Golden Eagles fall to 8-13 (5-10 NSIC) with the hard-fought loss. Friday's game was the best Minnesota Crookston has played in the 2018 calendar year as they put a full 40 minutes of basketball together. Nonetheless the Golden Eagles have dropped seven-straight since a Dec. 31 win over Upper Iowa University. Minnesota State sits on the top of the NSIC South with a 17-4 (13-2 NSIC) record. The Mavericks have won five-straight.

Minnesota Crookston was close to knocking off the Mavericks for the first time in program history. Minnesota State has won all 19 meetings between the two NSIC foes.

Cleary's 46 points bests his previous high of 42 points, which came a year ago tomorrow (Jan. 27, 2017) against the same team, Minnesota State. Cleary has had great showings against the Mavericks as he has tallied 88 points against them in two meetings. His 46 points is the highest scoring output by a NSIC player since Concordia University-St. Paul's Matt Cadwell scored 46 points against Upper Iowa University Feb. 28, 2009. Cleary was 15-of-31 from the field and 5-of-8 from beyond the arc. He finished an unblemished 11-of-11 from the foul line.

Smith chipped in a double-double for the Golden Eagles with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Alan Hodge, Jr. (Jr., G, Dallas, Texas) came off the bench for seven points and nine boards, while Ben Juhl (Fr., G, Clive, Iowa) and Josh Collins (Jr., F, Minneapolis, Minn.) each notched six points apiece.

The Golden Eagles were 29-of-62 from the field for 46.8 percent. Minnesota Crookston shot well from beyond the arc where they were 9-of-20 for 45.0 percent. The Golden Eagles were 11-of-11 from the charity stripe as Cleary attempted and hit all the foul shots for the Golden Eagles.

Both teams grabbed 36 boards on the glass for the evening. Minnesota Crookston struggled at times with ball control as they finished with just six assists to 12 turnovers.

The Mavericks had four players tally double-figure scoring on the night. Chris Kendrix led the way with a double-double of 20 points and 10 boards. Kevin Krieger had 20 points, as well. Cameron Kirksey chipped in a double-double of 14 points and 11 boards. Carlos Anderson added 10 points off of the bench for Minnesota State.

The Mavericks were 30-of-66 for 45.5 percent from the field. They shot 6-of-16 from beyond the arc for 37.5 percent and were 14-of-20 for 70.0 percent from the foul line. They had 11 assists on the night to just five turnovers.

Cleary ignited Minnesota Crookston early with three 3-pointers to list the Golden Eagles to an early 9-4 advantage on the Mavericks. Minnesota State pulled within 9-6 on a pair of Kirksey free throws. Juhl and Kendrix would trade three-pointers on their ensuing possessions as Minnesota Crookston continued to lead 12-9. The Mavericks built on Kendrix's trey as they used an 8-0 run to take a 14-12 lead. The Golden Eagles knotted the game up 14-14 on a basket from Cleary. Minnesota Crookston took an 18-16 lead on a bucket from Cleary, but the Mavericks took it right back 19-18 on a Jamal Nixon triple.

Minnesota State and Minnesota Crookston would trade baskets before a Hodge triple put the Golden Eagles ahead 23-21. The Golden Eagles used Hodge's bucket as springboard for an 8-0 rally as they moved into a 28-21 advantage. The Mavericks pulled within 28-24 on a Krieger triple with 6:13 left in the first half. Four-consecutive points from Cleary moved the Minnesota Crookston lead to 32-24 with 3:36 left in the first half. Minnesota State got going on their offensive end as they used a 6-0 run to cut the lead to 32-30 following an Anderson jumper with 1:38 left in the half. The Golden Eagles stopped the run with a Cleary layup to make it 34-30. However, Minnesota State closed the half on a 4-0 run as they knotted the game up 34-34 following a Kendrix tip-in with 38 seconds remaining.

The Golden Eagles looked to the hand of Cleary in the first half as he delivered 22 points on 8-of-18 from the field and 4-of-5 from beyond the arc. Hodge came off the bench for seven points and six boards, while Juhl added three points.

Minnesota Crookston was 13-of-30 from the field for 43.3 percent. They were lights out from deep as they shot 6-of-11 from beyond the arc for 54.5 percent. The Golden Eagles went 2-of-2 from the stripe for 100.0 percent.

The Golden Eagles won the rebounding edge 18-17 in the first half.

Minnesota State looked to nine points from Kendrix on 3-of-7 from the field. Krieger chipped in eight points, while Kirksey added six points and seven rebounds.

The Mavericks were 13-of-30 from the field for 43.3 percent. Minnesota State shot 4-of-9 for 44.4 percent from behind the three-point line. They were 4-of-6 from the foul line for 66.7 percent.

Collins got the first bucket of the second half to give Minnesota Crookston the 36-34 advantage early on. The Mavericks got the lead back 39-38 as Kendrix nailed a triple. Krieger hit a basket to extend the Minnesota State lead to 41-38. Cleary hit 4-of-4 from the charity stripe to give Minnesota Crookston the lead back 42-41 with 16:48 remaining in the game. The two teams traded baskets as the Golden Eagles held on to the lead 44-43 following a Smith dunk. The Mavericks were able to take the lead on a Kirksey basket but Minnesota Crookston took it right back 47-45 as Collins found Juhl on the wing for a triple.

 Minnesota State took the lead back on a Kirksey trey and extended their lead to 50-47. Javier Nicolau quickly made an impact off the bench with a bucket on one end and a crucial block on the other. His block led to a Collins basket for Minnesota Crookston to put Minnesota Crookston up 51-50. The Golden Eagles moved their lead to 55-52 as Smith read the pass and threw it down on the other end. The Mavericks countered with a 7-0 run as they went up 59-55 on a pair of Kendrix free throws. Minnesota State moved their lead to 63-57 on a Kendrix jumper with 7:48 left in the game.

Minnesota Crookston used a Cleary jumper to pull within 63-59. A pair of free throws from Krieger moved the Minnesota State lead back out to 65-59. The Mavericks moved their lead to 71-61 following baskets from Krieger and Anderson. Minnesota Crookston pulled back within 71-64 as Cleary nailed a triple. After a missed free throw on the other end, Cleary would convert an old-fashioned three point play to pull the Golden Eagles back within 71-67 with 3:51 left in the game. A quick bucket for Anderson extended the lead for the Mavericks to 73-67, but Cleary came back for another jumper to cut it to 73-69. After a defensive stop, Cleary hit a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to 73-71. Minnesota State answered on the other end with a Brown basket to extend the advantage to 75-71. Minnesota Crookston was able to pull back within 75-73 as Cleary set a new career high with his 43^rd and 44^th points of the game. The Golden Eagles came up with a crucial defensive stop, leading to another Cleary basket to knot the game up 75-75. Minnesota State took the lead back 77-75 as Krieger hit a pair of free throws with 1:46 remaining. The Mavericks moved the lead to 78-75 as Kirksey hit 1-of-2 from the foul line.

Minnesota Crookston stayed in the thick of things into the final seconds. The Golden Eagles came up with a big stop defensively as Hodge contained Krieger. After an offensive board from Smith, he hit his first trey of the season to knot the game up 78-78 with 8.0 seconds remaining. Brown drove the court for Minnesota State and hit a basket with 1.5 seconds left on the clock. The first pass would deflect off the Mavericks giving the Golden Eagles the ball with 0.3 seconds remaining. An offensive foul would be called on Collins as Smith threw the ball in ending the game with an 80-78 victory for Minnesota State.

The Golden Eagles return to action Sat., Jan. 27 at 6 p.m. at Concordia University-St. Paul in St. Paul, Minn.