CROOKSTON, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Crookston men's basketball team swept their non-conference home games with a 94-65 win over Concordia College (Minn.). The Golden Eagles used a 21-2 run at the end of the first half to catapult them to Sunday's victory over the Cobbers.

"Concordia brings a lot of energy," said Head Coach Dan Weisse. "It took us a while to match that energy. Give Coach Grant (Hemmingsen) a lot of credit. He does a good job over there. They were making a lot of shots and dictating the game early on. We got our feet under us and started to defend. Once we started to defend better that carried over to the offensive end. I was very happy with the business like attitude our guys had this weekend. They bought into the defensive end of things and hopefully it is a sign of things to come."

Minnesota Crookston won their three conference home tilts this week by an average of 40 points per game. The Golden Eagles move to 4-1 with Sunday's victory for their first best start in their 20-year history in NCAA Division II and the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC).

Concordia College falls to 1-2 with Sunday's loss to the Golden Eagles.

Minnesota Crookston was lifted by the play of Ben Juhl (So., G, Clive, Iowa), who had 20 points on 7-of-12 from the field, 1-of-2 from beyond the arc, and a perfect 5-of-5 from the foul line.

Harrison Cleary (Jr., G, Oak Creek, Wis.) added 19 points, four rebounds, and three assists on 5-of-13 from the field, 2-of-5 from distance, and 7-of-7 from the stripe. Brian Sitzmann (R-Fr., G, Savage, Minn.) came off the bench for nine points.

Chase Knickerbocker (Sr., G/F, Annandale, Minn.) chipped in eight points, while Josh Collins (Sr., F, Minneapolis, Minn.) added eight points and six rebounds. Chase Johnson (R-So., F/C, La Crosse, Wis.) notched six points and seven rebounds. Darin Viken (Sr., G, Fosston, Minn.) and Malcolm Cohen (R-Jr., G/F, Detroit, Mich.) also added six points.

Minnesota Crookston shot 30-of-58 from the field for 51.7 percent. The Golden Eagles were 8-of-18 from beyond the arc. Minnesota Crookston won the game in part because of their free throw shooting as they were 26-of-28 for 92.9 percent.

The Golden Eagles won the battle on the glass 38-25 over the Cobbers. Minnesota Crookston had 10 assists to eight turnovers, while they forced 13 Concordia College turnovers on the night.

Minnesota Crookston continues to be strong on defense as they have limited their foes to 59.4 points per game. The Golden Eagles have improved drastically from last year where they allowed 75.5 points per tilt.

Concordia was led by Bryden Urie with 25 points, six rebounds, and three assists on 8-of-11 from the field, 2-of-4 from beyond the arc, and 7-of-9 from the foul line.

Cal Wright chipped in 11 points, while Tommy Schyma finished with eight points. The Cobbers were 23-of-54 for 42.6 percent. Concordia shot 8-of-23 for 34.8 percent from beyond the arc, and 11-of-16 for 68.8 percent from the stripe.

Concordia jumped out to a 5-0 lead after a Jordan Davis basket. Minnesota Crookston countered with a 6-0 run with back-to-back triples from Knickerbocker as they took a 6-5 lead. The Cobbers used buckets from Urie and Schyma to take the lead back 9-6.

The Golden Eagles took the lead back 12-11 on a basket from Cleary with 14:26 left in the first half. The Cobbers took their biggest advantage of the game 19-14 on a trey from Wright with 11:27 left in the first frame.
Minnesota Crookston got going offensively shortly after as Cohen propelled a 6-0 run to put the Golden Eagles into a 20-19 advantage. The Cobbers utilized jumpers from Schyma and Wright to take the advantage back 23-20.

Minnesota Crookston ended the first stanza on a 21-2 run as the Golden Eagles went into the locker room with a 41-25. Minnesota Crookston was led on their rally by the play of Juhl, who notched 11 points.

Concordia cut the deficit to 15 at 43-28 after a Wright bucket. Cleary responded with four-straight free throws after a technical foul on Cobber Head Coach Grant Hemmingsen as Minnesota Crookston's lead jittered out to 47-28.

The Cobbers cut the lead back down to 16 with three points from Urie with 16:04 remaining. The Golden Eagles got their advantage out to 24 on a Cleary trey with 13:39 left.

Concordia cut the deficit to 19 on a Jacob Frederickson bucket with 12:57 remaining in the game. A dunk from Johnson put a stamp on a 7-0 run for the Golden Eagles as they pushed out to a 66-40 advantage.

Minnesota Crookston moved their lead out to a game-high 32 points on a Viken three-pointer with 53 seconds left. A David Birkeland trey pulled Concordia within 94-65 before the final buzzer.

The Golden Eagles will look to continue their strong start as they head to the USA Sports Tours and Events Puerto Rico Basketball Classic in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Minnesota Crookston will take on Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico at 1 p.m. C.T. on Wed., Nov. 21. The Golden Eagles will face No. 25 Missouri Southern State University Thurs., Nov. 22 at 11 a.m. C.T. They will wrap up their Puerto Rico excursion Fri., Nov. 23 at 9 a.m. C.T. versus Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras.