CROOKSTON, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Crookston men's basketball team will host their first Golden Eagle Basketball Classic Sat., Nov 17 and Sun., Nov. 18 at Lysaker Gymnasium in Crookston, Minn. The tournament will feature four games over the two days featuring Minnesota Crookston, Valley City State University, Oak Hills Christian College, and Concordia College (Minn.).

Golden Eagle Basketball Classic
Sat., Nov. 17
Concordia vs. Oak Hills Christian, 4 p.m., Lysaker Gymnasium
Valley City State vs. Minnesota Crookston, 6 p.m., Lysaker Gymnasium
Sun., Nov. 17
Oak Hills Christian vs. Valley City State, 2 p.m., Lysaker Gymnasium
Concordia vs. Minnesota Crookston, 4 p.m., Lysaker Gymnasium
Live Stats (all four games) - https://goldeneaglesports.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Video (all four games) - https://portal.stretchinternet.com/crk/#liveEventsTab
Radio (Minnesota Crookston games only) – 1260 KROX AM/105.7 FM, on the app, www.kroxam.com, or on Amazon Alexa

The action opens up Sat., Nov. 17 at 4 p.m. as Oak Hills Christian takes on Concordia, followed by Minnesota Crookston and Valley City State at 6 p.m. Sunday's action tips off at 2 p.m. with Valley City State facing off with Oak Hills Christian, concluded with Minnesota Crookston and Concordia at 4 p.m.

Minnesota Crookston Preview
Projected Starters
Jr. PG 0 Harrison Cleary (6-1 180, Oak Creek, Wis.), 20.7 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 4.3 APG
So. SG 2 Ben Juhl (6-1 186, Clive, Iowa), 11.3 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 2.0 APG
Sr. SF 25 Chase Knickerbocker (6-7 210, Annandale, Minn.), 14.3 PPG, 5.0 RPG
Sr. PF 30 Josh Collins (6-6 230, Minneapolis, Minn.), 7.0 PPG, 5.7 RPG
R-Sr. C 24 Gable Smith (6-7 225, Lodi, Wis.), 1.3 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 3.3 BPG, 2.0 SPG

Minnesota Crookston men's basketball is off to a 2-1 mark, their best start since the 2013-14 campaign. Minnesota Crookston is coming off a 61-point victory over Oak Hills Christian Wednesday.
 
The Golden Eagles are led by junior Harrison Cleary with 20.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game. Cleary was All-NSIC First Team last season. Chase Knickerbocker is back after missing the last half of the season due to injury. Knickerbocker is notching 14.3 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. Malcolm Cohen is coming off the bench for 11.7 points and 4.3 rebounds per contest, while Ben Juhl is averaging 11.3 points per game.
 
In addition, Josh Collins (Sr., F, Minneapolis, Minn.), who was a mid-year transfer from University of North Dakota last season, is averaging 7.0 points and 5.7 rebounds per game, while redshirt freshman Brian Sitzmann (G, Savage, Minn.) is coming off the bench for 5.0 points per contest.
 
The Golden Eagles are averaging 82.0 points per game and allowing 59.3 points per game. They are shooting 46.7 percent from the field, 41.3 percent from beyond the arc and 66.0 percent from the foul line.
 
Oak Hills Christian Preview
Projected Starters
Fr. PG 10 Derrick Wright (6-1, Odessa, Texas), 10.0 PPG, 3.3 RPG
So. SG 40 Phillip Harris (6-0, Memphis, Tenn.), 13.6 PPG, 1.9 RPG
Fr. 3G 32 Roman Konsella (6-1, Sheldon, Wis.), 5.9 PPG, 3.7 RPG
Jr. SF 44 Ronnie Jackson (6-1, Seward, Alaska), 10.0 PPG, 4.3 RPG
Sr. PF 21 Blake Dragt (6-6, Castlewood, S.D.), 7.3 PPG, 6.0 RPG

Oak Hills Christian comes into the weekend with a 0-7 mark on the season. The Wolfpack have already played the Golden Eagles this season, but will face off with Concordia and Valley City State this weekend. The closest effort for Oak Hills Christian came with a 94-73 loss in Aberdeen, S.D. to Nebraska Christian College.
The Wolfpack is led by Phillip Harris with 13.6 points per game, while Derrick Wright and Ronnie Jackson are each notching 10.0 points per game. Blake Dragt leads Oak Hills Christian on the glass with 6.0 rebounds per game.

Valley City State Preview
Projected Starters
So. PG 12 Hunter McCalla (6-4 200, Becker, Minn.), 4.0 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 2.0 APG
So. SG 14 Logan Nelson (6-3 190, Hunter, N.D.), 16.6 PPG, 3.6 RPG
Jr. 3G 25 Michael Cornelious (6-3 205, St. Paul, Minn.), 8.1 PPG, 7.6 RPG
Sr. SF 4 Christian Kvilvang (6-5 205, Cando, N.D.), 10.7 PPG, 3.9 RPG
Jr. PF 22 Chris Morgan (6-7 230, Davenport, Iowa), 12.3 PPG, 6.0 RPG

Valley City State enters the weekend with a 1-5 record. The Vikings are in their third season under Head Coach Ryan Montgomery, a former assistant coach at Bemidji State University. Valley City State beat Bemidji State University in exhibition play Oct. 27. Their lone regular-season win came over Providence College 122-49.

The Vikings have been guided by Logan Nelson's 16.6 points per game. Michael Cornelious leads the Vikings on the boards with 7.6 rebounds per game. Chris Morgan is the top post option for the squad with 12.3 points and 6.0 rebounds per game, while Christian Kvilvang is averaging 10.7 points per game.
Valley City State is averaging 77.4 points per game and allowing 80.6 points per contest to their foes. The Vikings are shooting 44.1 percent from the field, 30 percent from beyond the arc, and 67.3 percent from the stripe. They are winning the war on the glass 39.4 to 38.4 on the season.

Concordia College Preview
Projected Starters
So. PG 2 Bryden Urie (6-0, Proctor, Minn.), 10.0 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 2.0 APG
Sr. SG 4 Collin Larson (6-3, Fargo, N.D.), 12.0 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 4.0 APG
Jr. 3G 10 Tommy Schyma (6-3, Monticello, Minn.), 17.0 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 6.0 APG
Sr. SF 23 Jordan Davis (6-7, Dunseith, N.D.), 8.0 PPG, 4.0 RPG
Jr. PF 32 John Reiten (6-7, Minot, N.D.), 6.0 PPG, 7.0 RPG

Concordia College enters the weekend with a 0-1 mark on the season as they lost their regular-season opener narrowly to University of Minnesota Morris 81-80. The Cobbers also played exhibition against North Dakota State University and Minnesota State University Moorhead.

Concordia is paced by Tommy Schyma, who is averaging 17.0 points, five rebounds, and six assists per game. Collin Larson is notching 12.0 points per game, while shooting 4-of-7 from beyond the arc. Bryden Urie comes in notching 10 points. Jordan Davis is tallying eight points per game, while John Reiten is notching six points and seven boards per contest.

The Cobbers are shooting 48.5 percent from the field, 45.8 percent from beyond the arc, and just 37.5 percent from the foul line. They out-rebounded Minnesota Morris 36-35.