Kenosha, Wis.— After a wild 78-76 victory over Concordia-St. Paul last night in the first round of the inaugural Parkside Invitational presented by HARIBO, the Golden Eagles advanced to the championship playing the hosts, Wisconsin Parkside. The Rangers defeated Hillsdale 60-57 in overtime to advance to the championship game.
The Rangers used a 16-2 scoring run to open up the second half to defeat the Golden Eagles 78-56, and win the inaugural Parkside Invitational presented by HARIBO.
Minnesota Crookston falls to 2-2 on the season, while the Rangers have won two-straight and improve to 2-2.
Harrison Cleary (Sr., G, Oak Creek, Wis.) picked up right where he finished last night, burying his first shot, this one from behind the arc to give the Golden Eagles a quick 3-0 lead in the first possession of the game.
The Rangers would ride the hot hands of Joey St. Pierre and Brandon Hau to take a 13-7 lead at the first media timeout.
The Rangers would stay scorching hot throughout the first half, but the Golden Eagles would eventually find a rhythm midway through the opening stanza.
Trailing 33-19, Cleary made a tough runner in the lane, followed by
Malcolm Cohen (R-Sr., F, Detroit, Mich.) stealing the inbounds pass and throwing down a thunderous slam, to cut the Ranger lead from 14, down to just 10.
The Golden Eagles would cut a once 16 point Ranger lead down to just six, after back-to-back three's from Cleary and
Brian Sitzmann (R-So., G, Savage, Minn.).
The Rangers, however, would head into the first half break with an 11 point lead at 40-29.
Cleary finished with 17 first half points on 3-5 shooting from downtown and 7-14 overall from the field. Cohen had four, followed by SItzmann and
Reed Miller (Fr., F, Appleton, Wis.) with three points each.
As a team, the Golden Eagles were 12-34 from the field and 5-14 from the three point line. Good for 36 percent.
The second half started out all Rangers, as the Rangers went on a 16-2 run to open up the second half, to extend their lead to 25 at 56-31.
The Golden Eagles struggled offensively in the second half and the Rangers took advantage, stretching their lead to 67-36 with 12 minutes left in the game.
The Golden Eagles would cut the lead to 67-42 after two straight makes from behind the arc from Miller and Cleary.
Javier Nicolau (Sr., C, Castellon, Spain) had a chance at an old-fashioned three point play, but missed the free throw.
Minnesota Crookston would try and chip away at the lead, but the Rangers proved to be too much, defeating the Golden Eagles 78-56.
Cleary finished his outstanding weekend with 24 points on 4-8 shooting from behind the arc. Cohen and Miller chipped in nine and six, respectively, while
Tyrese Shines (Fr., G, La Grange, Ill.) had the best game of his young college career, finishing with four points. As a team, Minnesota Crookston finished 21-64 from the field, good for just 33 percent. The Golden Eagles were outrebounded 45-31 by Wisconsin-Parkside.
UWP had four players in double-figures, including 16 from Brandon Trimble and 15 from Brandon Hau.
The Golden Eagles are back in action for their NSIC opener and the home opener as the Beavers of Bemidji State come into Crookston. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m., Thursday night inside Lysaker Gymnasium.
