Minnesota Crookston Returns Home for NSIC Play Hosting Winona State and Upper Iowa
    • The Minnesota Crookston men's basketball team will look to rebound in NSIC play this weekend with a series with Winona State and Upper Iowa. The Golden Eagles have lost just once at home all season, and will look to continue their dominance inside Lysaker Gymnasium this weekend. The Golden Eagles had a rare January non-conference game on Tuesday night at home against Jamestown. The Golden Eagles defeated the Jimmies 79-63 to reach 11 wins for the first time in program history.
      • HISTORY. The Golden Eagles have a chance to be the best team in terms of record in school history. Last season, the Golden Eagles picked up their tenth win on February 10th, an 89-76 victory over MSU Moorhead in Crookston. That win set the school record for most wins in a season. This season, the Golden Eagles can set the school record with wins almost a month earlier than the previous season.
      • HOME SWEET HOME. The Golden Eagles sure love to play in Lysaker Gymnasium. Minnesota Crookston has a 7-1 record at home this season, with the only loss coming at the hands of Northern State in early December. The Golden Eagles need just one more home win to ensure a winning record at home for the second straight season.
      • CROWN JUHL. Sophomore guard
Ben Juhl is having an outstanding second season in a Golden Eagles uniform. Juhl is second on the team in scoring with 11.1 PPG, while shooting 48 percent from the three point line. Juhl averaged 14 PPG in the two losses last weekend.
      • CONSISTENT COLLINS. Senior guard
Josh Collins has played a big part in the Golden Eagles success this season. Collins is averaging 7.8 PPG on the season and is second on the team with 4.9 RPG. Collins scored a career high 19 points on 8-10 shooting on Saturday afternoon against MSU Moorhead.
     • ALL HE DOES IS SCORE.Â
Harrison Cleary, the junior guard from Oak Creek, Wis., is looking to shatter records in his remaining time at Minnesota Crookston. Cleary jumped up three spots over the weekend to move to 10th place all time on the NSIC scoring list. Cleary scored 27 and 25 points in two games over the weekend, to bring his total to 1,289 points in the conference. Cleary needs just three points to surpass Brett Ervin of Minnesota Duluth to move into ninth all time. Cleary has scored 1,755 points in his Golden Eagles career, and needs just 163 points to surpass Joe Hasz for the school record in points scored.
     • BENCH PRODUCTION. The Golden Eagles have gotten production from the bench this season.
Malcolm Cohen,
Brian Sitzmann and
Chase Johnson have been a big part of that productivity from the bench and will look to continue that solid play down the stretch in conference play.
Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles
Head Coach: Dan Weisse
Record at UMC: 39-92 Season at UMC: Fifth Season
Winona State Warriors
Head Coach: Todd Eisner
Record at WSU: 53-49 Season at WSU: Fourth Season
Upper Iowa Peacocks
Head Coach: Brooks Mckowen
Record at UIU:94-70 Season at UIU: Fifth Season
Winona State at Minnesota Crookston
Date: Fri., Jan. 18
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Video:Â https://portal.stretchinternet.com/crk/#liveEventsTab
Live Stats:Â https://goldeneaglesports.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Series Record: Winona State leads 25-4
Last Meeting: Minnesota Crookston won 73-56 Dec.30, 2017 in Crookston, Minn.
Trends: These two teams have split the last two games in the series.
Upper Iowa at Minnesota Crookston
Date: Sat., Jan. 19
Time: 5:30 p.m.
Video:Â https://portal.stretchinternet.com/crk/#liveEventsTab
Live Stats:https://goldeneaglesports.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Series Record: Upper Iowa leads 15-3
Last Meeting: Minnesota Crookston won 98-79 Dec. 31, 2017 in Crookston, Minn.
Trends: These two teams have split the last two meetings.
Minnesota Crookston
Projected Starters
Jr. PG 0 Harrison Cleary (6-1 180, Oak Creek, Wis.)Â Â Â Â Â 23.3 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 4.0 APG
So. SG 2 Ben Juhl (6-1 186, Clive, Iowa) Â Â Â Â 10.8 PPG, 2.2 RPG
Sr. SF 25 Chase Knickerbocker (6-7 210, Annandale, Minn.) 1 10.9 PPG, 4.4 RPG
Sr. PF 30 Josh Collins (6-6 230, Minneapolis, Minn.)Â 7.9 PPG, 5.1 RPG
R-Sr. C 24 Gable Smith (6-7 225, Lodi, Wis.)Â Â Â Â Â 4.9 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 2.2 BPG
Top Bench Player
R-Jr. G/F 12 Malcolm Cohen (6-6 210, Detroit, Mich.)Â 8.8 PPG, 2.5 RPG
Sr. G 13 Darin Viken (6-1 200, Fosston, Minn.)Â Â Â Â Â 3.1PPG, 1.9 RPG
Jr. F/C 44 Javier Nicolau (6-10 220, Castellon, Spain)Â 1.9 PPG, 1.9 RPG
R-So. F 21 Chase Johnson (6-8 240, La Crosse, Wis.)Â 3.7 PPG, 4.1 RPG
Winona State
Projected Starters
Fr. G 5 Alec Rosner (6-2 185, Appleton, Wis.) 4.6 PPG, 2.6 RPG
Jr. G 10 Caleb Wagner (6-2 185, Muskego, Wis.) 11.5 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 3.3 APG
So. G 20 Devin Whitelow (5-9 160, Peoria, Ill.) 9.2 PPG, 3.0 RPG
So. G/F 24 Kevion Taylor (6-5 215, Milwaukee, Wis.) 14.3 RPG, 6.3 RPG
Sr. F 30 Tommy Gathje (6-8 220, Bloomington, Minn.) 10.3 RPG 4.5 RPG
Top Bench Players
Sr. G 1 Mason Domask (6-3 200, Waupun, Wis.) 7.6 PPG, 1.9 RPG
Sr. F 4 Charlie Koontz (6-7 200, Minneapolis, Minn.) 7.5 PPG, 4.7 RPG
So. G 12 Dalante Payton (6-2 180, St. Paul, Minn.) 5.9 PPG, 2.0 RPG
Upper Iowa
Projected Starters
R-So. G 5 Jareese Williams (6-2 185, Mason city, Iowa) 14.4 PPG, 4.6 RPG
Sr. F 13 Quentin Blaue (6-6 195, Ottowa, Kan.) 4.3 PPG, 1.9 RPG
So. G 20 Joe Smoldt (6-0 175, Reinbeck, Iowa) 12.9 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 3.7 APG
R-Sr. F 24 Kyle Haber (6-6 195, Dubuque, Iowa) 11.0 PPG, 5.4 RPG
Sr. F 50 Munachiso Okonkwo (6-9 245, Owerri, Nigeria) 12.7 PPG, 6.3 RPG
Top Bench Players
R-So. G 3 Chris Olson (6-1 170, Braham, Minn.) 12.3 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 3.1 APG
Fr. F 14 Jackson Joens (6-5 230, Cedar Rapids, Iowa) 7.9 PPG
WINONA STATE UNIVERSITY WARRIORS.  The Warriors head into Friday's battle against the Golden Eagles fresh off of a big win against the Augustana Vikings. The Warriors are currently tied for 5th in the NSIC South with SMSU and UIU. They are averaging 74.4 PPG and are outshooting their opponents by 3 points. Â
SCORING MACHINE. Kevion Taylor, the guard/forward from Milwaukee, Wis., is bursting into the second half of his sophomore season as a clear leader on the team. Taylor is averaging 14.3 PPG and is also leading the team in 3 pointers and free throws.
DO-IT-ALL. Junior guard, Caleb Wagner from Muskego, Wis., is a key piece to the Warriors starting five. He has had a major role in all 16 contests, and starting all conference games. Currently, he is averaging 11.5 PPG, the second highest on the team and has 52 assists on the season.
TOMMY BOY. Although Chris Farley is well known for his hit movie "Tommy Boy", Tommy Gathje is making a name of his own. The Native of Bloomington, Minn., looks to end his series against the Golden Eagles with a win. Gathje sits at an average of 10.3 PPG, while leading the team in FG% at .433 and 3P% at .403. Â
ROAD WARRIORS. The Warriors will look to do something not many teams have done, beat the Golden Eagles in Lysaker Gymnasium. The Golden Eagles are 8-1 in Crookston, Minn. The Warriors do have just three wins on the road in the regular season, but one of them came against Augustana University last weekend. That loss was just the Vikings' second home loss on the season.
UPPER IOWA UNIVERISTY PEACOCKS. The NSIC southern division team heads into Saturday's game with a 3-7 conference record. They are currently tied with WSU and SMSU for 5th in the south and are only 2 spots behind in the overall standings. UIU is averaging 78.8 PPG while UMC is averaging 79.2 PPG. Â
JEESE JAREESE. The redshirt sophomore guard, Jareese Williams (Mason City, Iowa), has played a major role for the UIU Peacocks. Starting in all conference games so far this season, Williams has been the leader in PPG, averaging at 14.4 PPG. Williams looks to help improve the Peacocks record for Saturday's contest.
YOU GO JOE. The sophomore guard from Reinbeck, Iowa, Joe Smoldt has also been another key piece for the Peacocks. Smoldt has started all 16 games this season, and leads the team in minutes played. He is averaging 12.9 PPG, just 2nd behind Williams. Â
OKONKWOW! Munachiso Okonkwo, a senior forward from Owerri, Nigeria, is hoping to continue his strong play against the Golden Eagles. Oknonkwo is fresh off of a season high of 14 points against Wayne State. He is also leading the team in FG made (81 in 15 games) and has a FG% of 59%, the 3rd best in the NSIC.
SOLID PROGRAM. Upper Iowa has been in good hands under the direction of head coach Brooks Mcgowen. The Peacocks have had a losing record just once in Mcgowen's tenure at UIU. The Peacocks made the NSIC Tournament championship in 2016-17 and made the NCAA Tournament for just the second time in the Division II era.
#FIVESTORYLINES
1. Can Minnesota Crookston continue their dominance inside Lysaker Gymnasium?
2. Will
Harrison Cleary continue to make history?
3. Can Minnesota Crookston continue to shoot the three effectively?
4. Can
Josh Collins continue to play at a high rate for the Golden Eagles?
5. Who will step up off the bench forÂ
Minnesota Crookston?
