Men's Basketball Travels to Kenosha, Wis., for Two Games at The Parkside Invitational Presented by HARIBO


•  The Minnesota Crookston men's basketball team split with two really good Missouri schools this past weekend in the opening two games of the 2019 season. On Friday night, the Golden Eagles had a one point halftime lead over the defending National Champions, Northwest Missouri State. The Bearcats took advantage in the second half of Golden Eagle turnovers to beat Minnesota Crookston by eight, 60-52. The Golden Eagles bounced back nicely on Saturday night, getting a 28 point lead over Missouri Western State at one point in the second half. Minnesota Crookston was able to hold off a furious rally from the Griffins to win by nine, 83-74. This weekend, Minnesota Crookston will play fellow NSIC school Concordia-St. Paul in non-conference play on Friday and either Wisconsin-Parkside or Hillsdale on Saturday in the Parkside Invitational sponsored by HARIBO in Kenosha, Wis.

•  HOMECOMING. It will be a homecoming for a number of Golden Eagles this weekend. Harrison Cleary, Reed Miller, Chase Johnson and Quintin Winterfeldt all reside from the state of Wisconsin and will all be playing in their home state for the first time in their collegiate career. To make things sweeter, it will be a homecoming for all three coaches as well, as Head Coach Dan Weisse and Assistant Coaches Bryan Beamish and Krayton Nash all reside from the Badger state.
 
•  FINISH. Minnesota Crookston had leads going into the break in both games last weekend against Northwest Missouri State and Missouri State. Both times however, the Golden Eagles were outscored in the second half. On Friday a one-point lead at halftime turned into an eight point loss after getting outscored 35-26 in the second stanza against the defending National Champions. On Saturday, the Golden Eagles had an 18 point lead heading into the halftime break, which was enough to defeat the Griffins by nine, even though Missouri Western outscored the Golden Eagles by nine, 45-36. As the season gets older, it will be important for the Golden Eagles to play a full 40 minutes.

•  PICK UP WHERE WE LEFT. Last season, the Golden Eagles were historically good from the three-point line. The Golden Eagles had two games with 18 made three's, including a game against Augustana where they made 18 to advance to the quarterfinals of the NSIC playoffs. Through two games this season, it doesn't look like the Golden Eagles have any intention of slowing down from behind the arc. Minnesota Crookston has 18 made three's through two games, including 11 in Saturday's win. Harrison Cleary leads the way with seven made three's, while freshman Reed Miller has four, all against Missouri Western and Brian Sitzmann and Malcolm Cohen each have three.

•  HE'S PRETTY GOOD.  Harrison Cleary started off his senior season on a good note this past weekend. The senior guard scored 18 points against Northwest Missouri State and 29 points against Missouri Western State, including 20 in the first half against the Griffins. Cleary didn't shoot the ball particularly well in both games, but still found ways to score, including going 7-8 from the free throw line on Friday. Cleary played 33 minutes on Friday and all 40 on Saturday, where he finished with the 29 points and five assists.

•  MILLER THE MAGNIFICENT. Freshman Reed Miller was outstanding on Saturday night. After playing 15 minutes the night before and collecting two rebounds, Miller played 16 minutes on Saturday night and shot 4-4 from behind the arc, including three in a four minute span. Miller finished the night with 12 points and two rebounds and was huge in getting the Golden Eagles their 18 point lead before half. The Appleton, Wis., native heads home this weekend to his home state looking to continue his play from Friday night.


•  THE STARTER FROM SPAIN. Javier Nicolau started the final ten games of the season a year ago and was outstanding. This season, Nicolau has started the first two games of the season and has played well. Through two games, the Castellon, Spain native leads the team with 7.5 rebounds per game and is also averaging 7.0 points per game. Nicolau was one rebound and two points away from his first career double-double last Friday night against Northwest Missouri State. The lanky Spaniard will look to continue his strong play this weekend in Kenosha, Wis.

 
•   19-0. That was the run the Golden Eagles went on against Missouri Western State on Saturday night. The Griffins buried a three to go up 5-4, but that's when Minnesota Crookston showed their offensive firepower. The Golden Eagles buried five three's including two apiece from Reed Miller and Harrison Cleary. The Golden Eagles forced two timeouts from the Griffins in that first half during their huge run. Missouri Western State did halt the run with a three of their own, but that was answered by Miller's third of his four three point makes on the night.


•  LEFTIES OFF THE BENCH. Chase Johnson and Ben Juhl were outstanding off the bench this past weekend. The two  lefties were the first two off the bench and they proved their value for Head Coach Dan Weisse. Johnson averaged 6.0 points per game and 5.0 rebounds per game, while Juhl averaged 3.5 points per game through two games, Juhl hit a big three in the second half of the Northwest Missouri State game.


Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles
Head Coach: Dan Weisse
Record at UMC: 46-99 Season at UMC: Sixth Season


Concordia-St. Paul
Head Coach: Joey James
Record at CSP: 52-96 Season at CSP: Sixth Season


Wisconsin-Parkside/Hillsdale
Head Coach: Luke Reigel (UWP), John Tharp (Hillsdale)
Seasons: 17th Season (Luke Reigel), 13th Season (John Tharp)


Minnesota Crookston vs Concordia-St. Paul
Parkside Invitational presented by HARIBO
Date: Fri., Nov. 15
Time: 5:00 p.m.
Video: https://team1sports.com/Parkside/
Live Stats: N/A
Series Record: The Golden Bears lead 24-6
Last Meeting: Minnesota Crookston dominated with a 20 point victory on 2/9/19 inside Lysaker Gymnasium.
Trends: These two teams will also meet in the Gangelhoff Center later this season for an NSIC matchup. This game is non-conference.

Minnesota Crookston vs Wisconsin-Parkside/Hillsdale
Parkside Invitational presented by HARIBO
Date: Sat., Nov. 16
Time: 1/3 p.m.
Video:  https://team1sports.com/Parkside/
Live Stats: N/A
Series Record: The Golden Eagles have never played either Wisconsin-Parkside or Hillsdale
Last Meeting: N/A
Trends: N/A


Weekly Snapshot

Minnesota Crookston
Projected Starters
Sr. PG 0 Harrison Cleary (6-1 180, Oak Creek, Wis.) 23.5 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 2.5 APG
RSo. SG 14 Brian Sitzmann (6-4 192, Savage, Minn.) 13.5 PPG, 2.0 RPG
RSr. SF 12 Malcolm Cohen (6-6 210, Detroit, Mich.) 7.5 PPG, 3.0 RPG
Jr. PF 10 Ibu Jassey Demba (6-7 200, Birmingham, England) 0.5 PPG, 3.0 RPG
Sr. F/C 44 Javier Nicolau (6-10 220, Castellon, Spain) 7.0 PPG, 7.5 RPG
Top Bench Players
So. SG 2 Ben Juhl (6-1 186, Clive, Iowa) 3.5 PPG, 4.0 RPG
R-So. F 21 Chase Johnson (6-8 240, La Crosse, Wis.) 6.0 PPG, 5.0 RPG
Fr. F 20 Reed Miller (6-6 205, Appleton, Wis.) 6.0 PPG, 2.0 RPG
Fr. G 13 Tyrese Shines (6-3, 190, La Grange, Ill.)
R-So. G/F 25 Zac Olson (6-5 225, Waterville, Minn.)

Concordia-St. Paul
Top Returners
Jr. F 35 Cody Carlson (6-9 222, Duluth, Minn.) 8.2 PPG, 4.6 RPG
Jr. G 11 Lee Higgins (6-3 185, Chicago, Ill.) 5.4 PPG, 2.3 RPG
So. G 10 Noah Kannegiesser (6-0 165, Hancock, Minn.) 3.7 PPG
Wisconsin-Parkside
Projected Starters
R-So. G 2 Brandon Hau (6-7 200, Mukwanago, Wis.) 13.0 PPG, 7.0 RPG
R-Jr. G 4 Tray Croft (6-1, 175, Anniston, Ala.) 20.0 PPG, 6.5 RPG
R-So. G 23 Brandon Trimble (6-2 175, St. Joseph, Ill.) 13.5 PPG, 3.5 RPG
Sr. F 24 Jonathan Morrobel (6-7 180, Dominican Republic) 1.5 RPG
R-So. C 44 Joey St. Pierre (6-9 270, Spring Grove, Ill.) 10.5 PPG, 5.0 RPG
Hillsdale
Projected Starters
Jr. G 11 Connor Hill (6-0 165, Lenexa, Kan.) 4.0 PPG, 2.5 RPG
R-Fr. F Patrick Cartier (6-8 220, Brookfield, Wis.) 11.0 PPG, 5.0 RPG
Jr. F 21 Davis Larson (6-5 190, Sheboygan, Wis.) 21.0 PPG, 2.5 RPG
Sr. G 23 Dylan Lowry (6-3 180, Liberty Township, Ohio) 13.5 PPG, 2.0 RPG
Jr. F 24 Austen Yarian (6-8 215, Cleveland, Ohio) 9.5 PPG


#Tidbits

CONCORDIA-ST.PAUL. The Golden Bears went into last season with mighty high expectations, especially with star Bryndan Matthews returning for his final season at CSP. CSP fell short of expectations, finishing with just nine wins and losing in the first round of the NSIC playoffs. This season, the Golden Bears bring in 11 new players, who will be playing their first game on Friday night against the Golden Eagles.

EXPERIENCE.  The Golden Bears return very few players with experience as a Golden Bear, but one of the players they do bring back is junior Cody Carlson. The Duluth, Minn., native played in 29 games a season ago and started in 19, averaging 8.2 points per game and 4.6 rebounds per game. Scored a career-high 22 points in early January a season ago against Southwest Minnesota State.

LEAN ON TRANSFERS. That might be what Head Coach Joey James will have to do this season. The Golden Bears do have four freshman that could play big roles for them this season, but the Golden Bears relied on the transfer portal to bring in guys with experience. CSP has seven transfers that will be putting on a Golden Bear uniform for the first time this Friday, including a Division I transfer in Perion Little, who came from Western Illinois, who compete in the Summitt League.

VIDEO GAME NUMBERS. Sophomore Noah Kannegeisser had a high school career to remember at Hancock High School. The former Hancock Owl lettered 10 times in high school, including five in basketball. He was also AP All-State his senior year, was a two-time Conference MVP and was a three-time All Area as well. Kannegeisser scored 1,007 points his senior year, averaging 36.0 points per game, which led the entire state of Minnesota. He finished his outstanding prep career with 2.723 points.

WISCONSIN-PARKSIDE. The Rangers are 0-2 this season, but both of their losses have been single-digits. In the opening game of the season, Wisconsin-Parkside lost a heartbreaking one point game to Lindenwood and then fell by eight points the following day to Illinois Springfield. The Rangers will have a tough test this Friday night against Hillsdale (Mich.).

SERVED ON A TRAY. Redshirt junior Tray Croft has had an excellent start to his season. The Anniston, Ala., native and Northern Iowa transfer is averaging 20.0 points per game through his first two outings. Croft is shooting 44 percent from the field and a respectable 36 percent from behind the arc.

HILLSDALE. The Chargers are off to a 1-1 start this season, but are on a blistering pace offensively. Hillsdale is averaging 89.0 points per game, including a 105 point output in their last contest against Oakland City. As a team, Hillsdale is shooting over 50 percent, right around 52 percent from the field. The Chargers lost 79-63 in their one and only exhibition of the season to Toledo, who compete in Division I Mid-American Conference.

BALANCE. A big reason for their 89.0 points per game through the first two games has been balance. They have four players that are averaging double-figures and even though it's early, that is an excellent sign for Hillsdale. They have been led by Davis Larson and Dylan Lowry, who are averaging 21.0 and 13.5 points per game, respectively.