CROOKSTON, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Crookston men's basketball team used 29 points from Harrison Cleary (Sr., G, Oak Creek, WIs.) and 23 points from Malcolm Cohen (R-Sr., G/F, Detroit, Mich.) to upend Bemidji State University 88-72 in their NSIC opener Thurs., Nov. 21 in Crookston, Minn. The Golden Eagles hit 15 three-pointers and shot 50 percent from the field in the win over the Beavers.

Minnesota Crookston moves to 3-2 (1-0 NSIC) with Thursday's win. Bemidji State falls to 2-1 (0-1 NSIC). Minnesota Crookston had a strong crowd on Thursday led by a vocal student section.

The Golden Eagles played strong defense as they limited a Bemidji State team who came into Thursday averaging 122 points per game to a season-low 72. Minnesota Crookston also limited Nick Wagner, who came in tallying 31.0 points per game, to just eight points on 2-of-14 from the field.

Cleary led the Golden Eagles with 29 points on 9-of-20 from the field, 5-of-12 from beyond the arc, and 6-of-6 from the foul line. He added four assists on the game. Cohen chipped in 23 points on 7-of-16 from the field, 4-of-10 from behind the three-point line and 5-of-5 from the charity stripe. Cohen had 18 of his 23 points in the second half.

With Cleary's first three-pointer of Thursday's game, he surpassed Southwest Minnesota State University's Ryan Bruggeman for second all-time in NSIC scoring. Cleary had 1,551 career points in NSIC play. He needs 382 points to surpass St. Cloud State University's Gage Davis as the all-time leading scorer in conference history.

In addition, Brian Sitzmann (R-So., G/F, Savage, Minn.) added 12 points and played great defense on the night. Javier Nicolau (Sr., F/C, Castellon, Spain) chipped in nine points. Ibu Jassey-Demba (Jr., F, Birmingham, England) added five points and seven boards, while Chase Johnson (R-Jr., F/C, La Crosse, Wis.) added four points and six rebounds.

The Golden Eagles shot 30-of-60 from the field for 50.0 percent. Minnesota Crookston was 15-of-34 from beyond the arc for 44.1 percent, and 13-of-14 from the foul line for 92.9 percent.

Bemidji State was led by Ja Morgan with 18 points, six rebounds, and seven assists. Morgan was instrumental in the second half with 13 points after missing the majority of the first half after committing his second foul.

Logan Bader added 12 points and seven rebounds, while Derek Thompson had a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds. Cody Landwehr chipped in 12 points off the bench, while Max Bjorklund had nine points and seven boards.

Bemidji State shot 26-of-69 from the field for 37.7 percent. The Beavers were 12-of-31 from behind the three-point line for 38.7 percent, and 8-of-10 from the foul line for 80.0 percent.

The Beavers started out quick on the game as they got out to an 8-4 advantage following an old-fashioned three-point play for Thompson. They moved their advantage to 10-4 as Morgan got a pair at the hoop for Bemidji State.

Minnesota Crookston utilized a 10-4 run to pull within one at 15-14 following a Cleary basket. Bemidji State countered with a 5-0 run of their own with back-to-back buckets from Landwehr as they found themselves with a 19-14 advantage with 12:50 left in the opening half.  

The Golden Eagles started to turn the tide of the game led by Cleary, who had seven-straight points to put Minnesota Crookston ahead 21-19 with 10:17 left in the half. Tyrese Shines (Fr., G, La Grange, Ill.) continued to build the momentum with a crucial three to put the Golden Eagles ahead 24-19.

Bemidji State remained right in the thick of the game as they were able to pull back within one at 24-23 after Thompson drained a trey.

The Golden Eagles had the answer as they went on an 11-0 run to take the lead 34-23 with 4:55 left in the stanza.

Bemidji State cut the deficit to 34-29 with a Bjorklund triple. However, Minnesota Crookston came right back and went into the locker room with a 42-33 advantage.

The Golden Eagles struck quickly out of the gate of the second stanza as they went on a 7-3 run to push their lead out to 49-36 with a Cohen jumper.
Minnesota Crookston was able to keep their distance from the Beavers and extend their lead to 73-58 with 9:49 remaining using a Reed Miller (Fr., F, Appleton, Wis.) trey. A dunk from Johnson built the lead out even further to 17.

Bemidji State was able to chip the lead down to 10 on a Wagner jumper with 4:08 left in the game. However, Minnesota Crookston responded as they extended their lead to a game-high 19 at 88-69 using a Cohen jumper, as he continued his impressive second half.

The Beavers were able to cut the deficit to 88-72 on a Bjorklund three in the final seconds, but Minnesota Crookston held on strong for their impressive 88-72 win to open conference play.

The Golden Eagles have secured four of the last five wins in the series over Bemidji State.

Minnesota Crookston returns back to non-conference play as they take on Waldorf University at 3 p.m. at Lysaker Gymnasium Sat., Nov. 23.