MINOT, N.D. – Minot State University used a great offensive night to take down the University of Minnesota Crookston men's basketball team 92-61 Sat., Jan. 26 at the MSU Dome in Minot, N.D. The Golden Eagles found themselves trailing 44-28 at the break. Minnesota Crookston would allow the Beavers to go on a 9-0 run out of the break and they would unable to overcome the large deficit.

The University of Minnesota Crookston men's basketball team falls to 13-10 (6-8 NSIC) with Saturday's loss. Minot State improves to 9-14 (4-10 NSIC) with the victory over the Golden Eagles. Minnesota Crookston remains in fifth place in the NSIC North.

The Golden Eagles were led by Josh Collins (Sr., F, Minneapolis, Minn.) with 17 points on 8-of-12 from the field. Chase Johnson (R-So., F/C, La Crosse, Wis.) added 12 points. Darin Viken (Sr., G, Fosston, Minn.) came off the bench for seven points. Javier Nicolau (Jr., F/C, Castellon, Spain) led the Golden eagles with eight rebounds.

Harrison Cleary (Jr., G, Oak Creek, Wis.) was held without a field goal for the first time in his career. Cleary was 6-of-6 from the foul line to finish with six points. He needs two points to surpass Casey Schilling of Augustana University for seventh all-time in NSIC history. Cleary needs 76 points to surpass Joe Hasz for the all-time leader in scoring at Minnesota Crookston.

Minnesota Crookston struggled from the field, as they were just 22-of-65 from the field for 33.8 percent. The Golden Eagles were just 3-of-21 for 14.3 percent. Minnesota Crookston had nine assists to seven turnovers on the night.

Minot State was guided by David Akibo in the post with 28 points and seven boards. Akibo was 11-of-20 from the field, 2-of-2 from beyond the arc, and 4-of-4 from the stripe. Kyle Beisch added 19 points. Kody Dwyer finished with 16 points, while Max Cody and Aleksa Cucovic each had 11 points. Drake Jeffries led the Beavers with 11 boards.

Minot State had a strong game shooting as they were 37-of-66 for 56.1 percent. The Beavers made 15 more shots than the Golden Eagles. Minot State was 8-of-14 from 57.1 percent from behind the three-point line. The Beavers shot 10-of-12 for 83.3 percent from the foul line.

Minot State controlled the glass on the night, as they out-rebounded Minnesota Crookston 46-31. The Beavers had 11 offensive boards.

Minot State got out to a 7-4 lead on a Dwyer dunk. The Beavers extended their lead to 14-4 with a Beisch triple with 16:46 remaining in the game. Minnesota Crookston utilized a quick 6-2 run led by treys from Ben Juhl (So., G, Clive, Iowa) and Viken as they pulled within 16-10.

The Beavers were able to widen their advantage out to 22-14 with an Akibo basket. The Golden Eagles were able to pull back within 22-17 as Chase Knickerbocker (Sr., G/F, Annandale, Minn.) drained a trey from the wing. Minot State countered with a 6-0 run as back-to-back Dwyer baskets stretched the lead out to 28-17.

Minnesota Crookston responded with a 5-0 run culminating with a Collins old-fashioned three-point play to bring the Golden Eagles within 28-22 with under four minutes remaining in the half. The Beavers utilized triples from Cody and Cucovic to take their lead back out to 34-22.

The Golden Eagles were able to cut the lead do 38-28 as Collins found Viken for the bucket off the in-bounds pass. Minot State held off the charge as Akibo scored four-straight to push the advantage back out to 42-28. A pair of Beisch free throws moved the lead for the Beavers out to 44-28, and that would be the score at the break.

Minnesota Crookston was 10-of-36 from the field for 27.8 percent in the first half. They shot just 3-of-12 from beyond the arc for 25.0 percent, and were 5-of-6 for 83.3 percent from the charity stripe.

The Golden Eagles were led by seven points from Collins in the first half. Johnson added six points, while Viken came off the bench for five points. Nicolau notched six rebounds off the bench.

Minot State shot an impressive 16-of-31 for 51.6 percent from the field. The Beavers were 4-of-7 for 57.1 percent from behind the three-point line. Minot State was a perfect 8-of-8 from the foul line. The Beavers controlled the glass 26-16 in the first half.

The Beavers used a 9-0 run out of the locker room as a Dwyer dunk extended the lead out to 53-28 with under 18 minutes left in the game. Johnson stopped the early run with a long jumper as the Golden Eagles cut the deficit to 53-30. A Beisch basket pushed the lead back out to 55-30.

The Golden Eagles utilized a 6-2 run ending with a long jumper from Johnson to pull within 57-36. The Beavers used a 6-2 run to extend their lead out to 63-38.

Minot State moved their lead out to 86-53 with a Cody fast-break lay-in with 5:05 remaining in the game. The Beavers would continue their strong play down the stretch as they took the 92-61 win over Minnesota Crookston.

The Golden Eagles return to action Fri., Feb. 1 at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall, Minn. at 7:30 p.m. C.T.