Crookston, Minn.—The University of Minnesota Crookston men's basketball team used a giant first half and double-doubles from Javier Nicolau (Sr., F, Castellon, Spain) and Harrison Cleary (Sr., G, Oak Creek, Wis.) to defeat NAIA school Waldorf University, 92-63 on Saturday afternoon inside Lysaker Gymnasium.
 
This is the second straight win for the Golden Eagles, who move to 4-2 (1-0 NSIC).
 
The Golden Eagles were outstanding defensively, holding the Warriors to just 24 first-half points and 63 points overall. Offensively, the Golden Eagles were balanced, having four players score in double-figures.
 
Cleary led the way with 25 points and 10 assists on 10-14 shooting, with three makes from behind the arc. Nicolau also finished with a double-double, his first career double-double with a career-high 18 points with 10 rebounds. Malcolm Cohen (R-Sr., F, Detroit, Mich.) and Brian Sitzmann (R-So., G, Savage, Minn.) finished with 13 and 10, respectively.
 
The Golden Eagles were scorching hot from the field, shooting 40-75 from the field, good for 54 percent and 10-29 from three, good for 35 percent.
 
Minnesota Crookston got off to a blazing start in front of yet another outstanding crowd. The Golden Eagles got off to a quick 6-0 start after baskets from Sitzmann, Nicolau and Ibu Jassey Demba (Jr., F, Birmingham, England) gave the Golden Eagles a 6-0 lead.
 
Back-to-back three's from Sitzmann and Jassey Demba forced a Warriors timeout as the Golden Eagles led 16-2 four minutes into the game.
 
Reed Miller (Fr., F, Appleton, Wis.) got the lead back to 14 after a three from the right corner, to stretch the lead to 19-5.
 
Minnesota Crookston would go on a 14-0 run midway through the first half to take a 33-7 lead, capped off by Sitzmann's second three ball of the night.
 
The Warriors would eventually get going on offense, led by Demetrius Martin's 20 overall points, who tried to chip away at the deficit.
 
The Golden Eagles capped off a strong first half of play with a Zac Olson (R-So., F, Waterville, Minn.) offensive rebound and kick out to Cleary who knocked down the three from straight away. The Golden Eagles would head into the halftime break with a comfortable 54-24 lead.
 
The Golden Eagles would have their largest lead of the game at 36 after two Cohen three's on two straight possessions, to stretch the lead to 60-24 with 18 minutes left in the ball game.
 
The Warriors would not quit in this game, eventually cutting the Golden Eagle lead to just 19 at 72-53 after a three from Ka'Jon Smith from the left corner.
 
Cleary would score five-straight points to get the Golden Eagle lead back up to 25 with 5:47 left in the game.
 
The starters would give way to the bench with 3:44 left in the game. That meant that Zach Westphal (R-Fr., G, West Fargo, N.D.) would be able to score his first Golden Eagle points, with a floater and a backdoor cut finished off with a layup to get the crowd excited. Westphal finished the night with four points.
 
The 92-63 victory was the largest of the young season for the Golden Eagles, who will look to make it three-straight wins on Tuesday night at the University of Sioux Falls in a non-conference game. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m., from the Stewart Center in Sioux Falls, S.D.