CROOKSTON, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Crookston men's basketball team hit 13 three-pointers on their way to an 85-77 win over Bethel University in an exhibition Wed., Oct. 30 at Lysaker Gymnasium. The Golden Eagles were led by 27 points on 6-of-8 from beyond the arc against Malcolm Cohen (R-Sr., G/F, Detroit, Mich.), and 22 points from Harrison Cleary (Sr., G, Oak Creek, Wis.).

The win was a solid one against a strong NCAA Division III opponent in the Royals, who went 19-8 last season, including a 15-5 mark in the MIAC.

The Golden Eagles led by 23 with 18:18 left in the second half for their biggest lead of the half, however the Royals out-scored Minnesota Crookston 46-34 in the second half. Minnesota Crookston dominated the first half 51-31, shooting 60 percent from three and 58.6 percent from the field in the first half.

Minnesota Crookston was 29-of-56 from the field for 51.8 percent. The Golden Eagles were 13-of-26 for 50 percent from behind the three-point line. Minnesota Crookston shot 14-of-19 for 73.7 percent from the foul line.

Bethel was 26-of-60 from the field for 43.3 percent, along with 10-of-18 for 55.6 percent from behind the three-point line.

Cohen led the way with his 27 points on 10-of-15 from the field, and 6-of-8 from beyond the arc. Cleary was 8-of-17 from the field, and 3-of-6 from beyond the arc. Cleary added four rebounds and five assists.

Brian Sitzmann (R-So., G, Savage, Minn.) added 11 points. Ben Juhl (So., G, Clive, Iowa) finished with eight points, while Javier Nicolau (Sr., F/C, Castellon, Spain) had seven points.

Minnesota Crooskton was led on the board by five rebounds from Reed Miller (Fr., F) and Chase Johnson (R-Jr., F/C, La Crosse, Wis.).

Bethel looked to 17 points from Chandler Wellman on 7-of-9 from the field. Noah Whalen, Granger Kingland, and Chris Morgan each added 12 points. Jamal Davis chipped in nine points. Kingland led the team with six assists, while Davis had four. Bethel was led on the board with eight from Kingland.

Minnesota Crookston out-rebounded Bethel 34-26. The Golden Eagles had 15 assists to 13 turnovers.

The Golden Eagles got out to an 11-6 lead following a three-pointer from Cleary. Bethel closed to within 11-9 with a Kingland trey. However, Minnesota Crookston responded with a 4-0 run following a pair of Juhl free throws.

Another KIngland triple cut the deficit to 15-12 for the Royals. Minnesota Crookston countered using an 8-0 run propelled by five points from Cleary to push the lead to 23-12.

The Golden Eagles got their advantage out to 34-20 following a pair of Sitzmann free throws. Three free throws from Kingland brought Bethel back to within 34-23.

A Cleary jumper, along with a Sitzmann triple helped jet Minnesota Crookston out to 9-0 run as the Golden Eagles took the lead 43-23.

Bethel was able to utilize a 6-0 run after a Wellman jumper to slice the deficit to 43-29.

Cleary quickly countered with a triple and a lay-up to push the lead back out to 48-29.

Minnesota Crookston went into the locker room with a 51-31 lead over the Royals.

The Golden Eagles used a Cohen three-pointer to take the advantage 56-33 early in the second stanza. Minnesota Crookston would continue to hold a substantial lead as the second half progressed as a Cohen trey put the score at 67-44.

The Royals utilized a 10-2 run over the next several minutes culminating with a Wellman triple to cut the lead to 69-54.

The Golden Eagles relied on an Ibu Jassey Demba (Jr., F, Birmingham, England) jumper to push back out to a 72-54 advantage. Minnesota Crookston continued to hold a substantial lead at 78-65 following a pair of Jassey Demba free throws.

Bethel did not go away though, as they sliced the lead down to 81-75 following two Jack Jenson free throws. Minnesota Crookston held strong though as they put a stamp on the win with a Nicolau slam as time expired.

The Golden Eagles will officially lift the lid on the 2019-20 season Fri., Nov. 8 as they take on the NCAA Division II Defending National Champion Northwest Missouri State University at 3:30 p.m. in St. Joseph, Mo. Minnesota Crookston is looking to build on their historic 2018-19 season as they set the program mark in Division II for wins and ended the season at the NSIC Tournament at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.