St. Joseph, Mo.—One day after losing to the defending National Champions and No. 1 Northwest Missouri State, the Golden Eagles men's basketball team was looking to bounce back against another MIAA squad, Missouri Western State.
They did indeed bounce back on Saturday night, defeating the Griffins 83-74. The Golden Eagles used balanced scoring and a big first half to improve to 1-1 on the young season, while the Griffins fall to 1-3.
Harrison Cleary (Sr., G, Oak Creek, Wis.) led the way with 29 points and five assists, including four three point makes.
Malcolm Cohen (R-Sr., G/F, Detroit, Mich.) scored 13 points going 3-6 from behind the arc.
Brian Sitzmann (R-So., G, Savage, Minn.) and
Reed Miller (Fr., F, Appleton, Wis.) added 12 points for the Golden Eagles. Miller was a perfect 4-4 from beyond the arc.
As a team, the Golden Eagles shot 28-56 from the field, good for 50 percent, while holding the Griffins to just 40 percent from the field. Both teams made 11 three's, but the big disparity was at the free throw line, where the Golden Eagles made five more free throws than Missouri Western.
The game started with the two teams trading baskets, but
Javier Nicolau (Sr., C, Castellon, Spain) gave the Golden Eagles the lead with a layup for his first two points of the game. Missouri Western would answer with a three to take a 5-4 lead.
That one point lead wouldn't last long as the Golden Eagles went on a 19-0 run that lasted just four minutes through the first half. Miller was huge during that stretch, burying three shots from behind the arc. The 19 straight points was helped by six three pointers, including the three from Miller, two from Cleary and one from Cohen.
The Griffins would answer with a three of their own from Reece Glover to make it a 15 point deficit, but that was quickly answered by the young freshman Miller.
The Golden Eagles would have their biggest lead of the first half with 5:28 left after a Nicolau jumper gave the Golden Eagles a 38-15 lead.
Cleary would bury a three near the end of the first half to give the Golden Eagles a 47-29 lead going into the halftime break. Cleary had 20 points in the first 20 minutes.
Cohen would make two three's in the first four minutes of the second half to help the Golden Eagles regain their 23 point lead.
The Golden Eagles went on a 14-4 run to open the second half, stamped by a thunderous
Chase Johnson (R-Jr., F, La Crosse, Wis.) dunk gave the Golden Eagles a commanding 61-33 lead with 14:25 left in the game.
Slowly but surely, Missouri Western would chip away at that 28 point deficit. Late in the game, the Griffins went on a 9-0 run to make it just 75-70 with 1:33 left, after Jonathan Mesmacque made two free throws to make it 75-70.
The Golden Eagles would be put on the line down the stretch and they were able to ice the game from the charity stripe, going 8-10 as a team to pick up their first win of the 2019 season.
Minnesota Crookston is back in action next Friday night in Kenosha, Wis., at 5 p.m., against fellow NSIC school, Concordia-St. Paul. The game with the Golden Bears is a nonconference affair.
