CROOKSTON, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Crookston men's basketball team were held at bay by No. 12 Northern State as they fell 81-50. The Golden Eagles were unable to knock down key shots as they hit just 32.2 percent on the evening. Northern State controlled the final 23 minutes of play as they outscored Minnesota Crookston 52-28.

Minnesota Crookston falls to 9-16 (6-13 NSIC) with Friday's loss. The Golden Eagles are just one win shy of setting the program record for wins. They tied the mark last weekend with a win over Augustana. The previous mark was set in 2001. The 15^th-ranked team in the nation moved to 24-3 (17-2 NSIC) with Friday's victory. The Golden Eagles are in a tie for sixth place with University of Minnesota Duluth. Minnesota Crookston is two games back of Bemidji State University in fourth place.

Minnesota Crookston was led by the conference's leading scorer Harrison Cleary (So., G, Oak Creek, Wis.), who notched 18 points on 7-of-18 from the field and 2-of-4 from beyond the arc. Cleary has now scored 959 career points in conference play as just a sophomore. Cleary needs just 41 points to eclipse 1,000 points in NSIC play. He moved to 27^th all-time in league history as he surpassed David Zellman of Winona state, Alex Richter of Augustana, Jimmy Roth of Upper Iowa and Zach Malvik of Winona State. Cleary needs 17 points to surpass Eric Kline of Northern State for 26^th all-time. Cleary has scored 1,253 career points overall.

Ben Juhl (Fr., G, Clive, Iowa) added 10 points on 3-of-7 from the field. Josh Collins (Jr., F, Minneapolis, Minn.) finished with nine points, while Alan Hodge, Jr. (Jr., G, Dallas, Texas) had six points, nine rebounds and six assists off the bench.

The Golden Eagles shot just 19-of-59 from the field for 32.2 percent. Minnesota Crookston finished 5-of-18 for 27.8 percent from beyond the arc. The Golden Eagles were 7-of-12 from the foul line for 58.3 percent.

Northern State was efficient on the night as they shot 31-of-58 from the field for 53.4 percent. The Wolves knocked down their three-pointers as they were 12-of-26 from beyond the arc for 46.2 percent. Northern State finished 7-of-12 for 58.3 percent from the foul line. The Wolves also used their size advantage to control the boards as they had 48 boards to just 26 for Minnesota Crookston.

Northern State looked to a double-double from Logan Doyle with 18 points and 11 boards on 7-of-8 from the field. D.J. Pollard added 16 points on 6-of-10 from the field. Darin Peterka finished with nine points, while Gabe King had nine points, five rebounds and six assists. Ian Smith chipped in eight points and eight boards.

Northern State got out to a quick 8-1 lead paced by five points from Doyle. Minnesota Crookston was able to pull within 17-10 following a Collins triple. The Wolves would extend their lead to 26-14 following a Bo Fries old-fashioned three-point play. The Golden Eagles used a quick 4-0 run as a Cleary bucket pulled Minnesota Crookston within 26-18. Minnesota Crookston would trail by just 32-24 after a jumper from Hodge with 2:38 remaining in the first half. Northern State extended their lead out to 13 following a trey from Peterka. The Wolves went into the locker room with a 39-24 advantage.

The Wolves continued their momentum into the second half as they used a 9-2 run out of the gate to move to a 48-26 lead. Minnesota Crookston would be able to cut the lead to 19 after a Juhl old-fashioned three-point play. However, the push would not last for long as Northern State responded with an 8-0 run moving their lead to 58-31 with a Doyle basket. The Wolves would not look back from there as they built their advantage to a game-high 35 following a Justin Decker layup with 59 seconds left. Northern State took the 81-50 win.

Minnesota Crookston will return to action as they take on Minnesota State University Moorhead in their regular-season home finale Sat., Feb. 10 at 6 p.m. at Lysaker Gymnasium.