ST. PAUL, Minn.—With snow on the ground, it means that winter is coming. When winter comes, it means that basketball is back for the University of Minnesota Crookston men's basketball team. They opened their fifth season under Head Coach Dan Weisse Friday.
The Golden Eagles were looking to start the regular season with a win in a neutral-site game against Arkansas Tech. The two teams met in the NSIC/GAC Crossover at Gangelhoff Center in St. Paul, Minn. Minnesota Crookston and Arkansas Tech are very familiar with each other. The Wonder Boys defeated the Golden Eagles in a wild 114-105 game in the regular-season opener last season down in Russellville, Ark.
The 2018 opener wouldn't be as high scoring, but the result was the same as the Wonder Boys staved off a furious rally by Minnesota Crookston to win 74-71.
R.J. Glasper and Alec Brown were the leaders for the Wonder Boys, each finishing with 19 points. Glasper has been a tough matchup for Minnesota Crookston as the University of Arkansas transfer went off for 26 last season to lead Arkansas Tech. Two more Wonder Boys would get double-digit scoring as Jacob Patterson and Will Adler each added 10 points. Brown would finish the night with a double-double, adding 11 rebounds.
Harrison Cleary (Jr.,G, Oak Creek, Wis.) displayed why he was All-NSIC First Team and D2CAA All-America Honorable Mention last season, pouring in 27 points on the afternoon and hitting two three-pointers in the ballgame. The Golden Eagles had four double-digit scorers on the day, including Chase Knickerbocker (Sr., G/F, Annandale, Minn.) who finished with 15 points, including going 5-of-8 from deep. Ben Juhl (So,G, Clive, Iowa) added 13 and Malcolm Cohen (R-Jr., G/F, Detroit, Mich.) scored 10 points off the bench.
Minnesota Crookston was 28-of-63 from the field for 44.4 percent. They shot 9-of-25 from beyond the arc for 36.0 percent and 6-of-9 from the stripe for 66.7 percent.
With the loss, the Golden Eagles fall to 0-1, while the Wonder Boys move to 1-0 on the very young season.
The fans in the Gangelhoff Center, home of Concordia University, St. Paul would see two very different frames. The first half was dominated by Arkansas Tech, outscoring Minnesota Crookston 42-22. The Golden Eagles would come out of the halftime and cut into the 20-point deficit, outscoring the Wonder Boys 49-32.
Arkansas Tech shot 47 percent in the first half, including 7-of-15 from behind the three-point line. When the Wonder Boys got to the free throw line in the first half, they converted, going 7-of-8.
Minnesota Crookston shot just 34 percent in the first half, including hitting on just 1-of-9 from long range.
The Golden Eagles would come out of the halftime break and start to chip away at that double-digit deficit.
Minnesota Crookston would use a 21-6 run from 10:34 ro 4:12 in the second half to cut the Arkansas Tech lead to 63-58. The Golden Eagles would get as close as two late in the second half. Minnesota Crookston would try and extend the game in the final minutes by putting Arkansas Tech on the line and the Wonder Boys would hit some big free throws to put the game on ice for the 74-71 victory.
The Golden Eagles have a quick turnaround as they get set to battle with the Boll Weevils of University of Arkansas Monticello. Tip-off between the Boll Weevils and Golden Eagles is set for 12 p.m. from the Gangelhoff Center in St. Paul, Minn.
