BEMIDJI, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Crookston men's basketball team fell 85-76 to Bemidji State University Sat., Dec. 21 at BSU Gymnasium. The Beavers out-scored the Golden Eagles 48-40 in the second half, as Minnesota Crookston struggled to get stops on the day.

The Golden Eagles fall to 7-5 (3-3 NSIC) on the season. Minnesota Crookston has matched their 7-5 start to the 2018-19 season for their best start in program history. The Golden Eagles finished the 2018-19 slate with a school-record 17 wins, as they made their first-ever appearance in the NSIC/Sanford Health quarterfinals in Sioux Falls, S.D.

Bemidji State moves to 7-3 (4-2 NSIC) with the victory. The Beavers have won four-straight in conference play. Bemidji State sits in a tie for second in the NSIC North, while the Golden Eagles slip to fifth.

Minnesota Crookston was led by Harrison Cleary (Sr., G, Oak Creek, Wis.), who had his sixth 40-point of his career, and his third this season. Cleary had 44 points on 14-of-27 from the field, and 7-of-12 from beyond the arc. He was a perfect 9-of-9 from the stripe. Cleary became the 36^th player in NCAA Division II history to score over 2,400 points in a career. He sits at 2,440 career points. Cleary surpassed Tyree Gaiter of Notre Dame (Ohio) and John Grochowalski of Assumption, as he is now 34^th all-time in NCAA Division II history. Cleary needs 218 points to surpass Gage Davis of St. Cloud State for first all-time in NSIC history. He needs 20 points to move past Justin Pitts of Northwest Missouri State University for 33^rd all-time in NCAA Division II history.

Javier Nicolau (Sr., F/C, Castellon, Spain) added nine points and four rebounds. Malcolm Cohen (R-Sr., G/F, Detroit, Mich.) finished with eight points and four rebounds. Ibu Jassey-Demba (Jr., F, Birmingham, England) chipped in seven points and five boards.

The Golden Eagles shot 25-of-60 from the field for 41.7 percent. They were 11-of-30 from behind the three-point line for 36.7 percent and were 15-of-16 from the stripe for 93.8 percent.
Bemidji State was on-fire from the field, as they connected on 28-of-51 for 54.9 percent. The Beavers were 12-of-27 from beyond the arc for 44.4 percent. They were 17-of-27 for 63.0 percent from the foul line.

The Beavers had six players score in double-figures, as they had a balanced attack. Nick Wagner led the way with 17 points on 5-of-13 from the field. Logan Bader added 16 points and seven boards. Zach Baumgartner had a double-double of 15 points and 10 boards. Griffin Chase had 14 points and five assists, while Max Bjorklund had 11 points and Derek Thompson added 12 points.

Bemidji State controlled the glass by the tune of 37-27 on the night.

Minnesota Crookston took the early 5-4 advantage on the game following a Jassey-Demba triple. The Golden Eagles built their run out to 9-0 following back-to-back Cleary triples as Minnesota Crookston moved into an 11-5 advantage.

Thompson hit 1-of-2 from the stripe to stop the run and trim the deficit to 11-5. Minnesota Crookston utilized an old-fashioned three-point play from Nicolau to push their advantage to 14-5.
Bemidji State countered with a 6-0 run as a Baumgartner hook-shot cut the lead to 14-11. The Golden Eagles came up in a big spot with a 9-2 run with all nine points scored by Cleary as Minnesota Crookston moved into a 23-13 advantage.

The Beavers did not go away as they used a 7-0 run of their own culminating with a Thompson triple, as they sliced the deficit to 23-21. Cohen stopped the run with a second-chance jumper to push the lead out to 25-21. The Golden Eagles held on to a 27-22 advantage after a Nicolau basket with 6:40 remaining in the half.

Bemidji State countered with an 8-0 run as they took the lead following a Bader old-fashioned three-point play, taking the lead 30-27. Cleary knotted the game back up 30-30 as he drained a three-pointer with 4:06 remaining in the first stanza.

Cleary continued a run for the Golden Eagles as he drained a pair of free throws to extend the lead to 32-30. A Baumgartner basket for Bemidji State knotted the game up 32-32. Cleary then moved Minnesota Crookston back into the lead with a basket to make it 34-32.

Bemidji State did not give in, as a Thompson trey with 1:21 left in the half gave the Beavers a 35-34 lead. Cleary countered with a basket on the other end to tilt the scales to the Golden Eagles 36-35. Bemidji State had the last laugh in the first half as Baumgartner had a bucket with 45 seconds remaining in the half to go into the locker room with the 37-36 advantage.

The Golden Eagles took the 38-37 lead right out of the gate in the second half after a Nicolau hoop. Bemidji State countered with a 4-0 run as they took the 41-38 advantage.

Minnesota Crookston responded with a Cleary bucket to cut the deficit to 41-40. Bemidji State responded with an 11-0 run propelled by three treys as they moved into a 52-40 lead.

The Golden Eagles utilized a 5-0 run with a Cleary triple and two free throws from Brian Sitzmann (R-So., G/F, Savage, Minn.) as they trimmed the deficit to 52-45. A Bader trey halted the run to extend Bemidji State's lead out to 55-45.

Three-pointers from Cohen and Cleary brought Minnesota Crookston back within 55-51 with 10:19 left in the game. Bemidji State stopped the 6-0 run with a Bader three-pointer as the Beavers took the 58-51 advantage.

The Beavers would continue to lead, as they held a 64-56 advantage after a pair of Thompson free throws. After a defensive stop, Bjorklund drained a triple to widen the gap to 67-56. Cleary then came up in a big spot as he converted an old-fashioned three-point play to trim the lead to 67-59 with 6:02 remaining in the game. Jassey-Demba brought the Golden Eagles within 68-62 with just over five minutes left in the game.

After a crucial block from Johnson, Minnesota Crookston's Cleary scooped it up and in to slice the lead to 68-64. Thompson halted the run as the Beavers pushed the lead back out to 70-64.

Minnesota Crookston had the answer on the opposite end as Cleary drained a step-back triple to trim the deficit to 70-67. However, Bader came right back with the trey for Bemidji State to push the lead out to 73-67.

Sitzmann drained a pair from the charity stripe to cut the Minnesota Crookston deficit to 73-69 with 3:30 left in the affair. Wagner responded with a contested jumper as Bemidji State went up 75-69.

Cleary hit a pair from the foul line to slice the lead down to 75-71. With a big defensive possession upcoming, Johnson stepped up with a crucial draw of a charge. This led to another chance on the opposite end as Cohen drained the triple to bring Minnesota Crookston within 78-74.

Bjorklund had the answer for Bemidji State as he hit the triple to give Minnesota Crookston the 78-74 advantage. After being fouled on the three-pointer, Bader hit 1-of-3 from the stripe to push the lead to 79-74.

After a defensive stop, Wagner hit 1-of-2 from the stripe to extend the lead to 80-74. Minnesota Crookston's Cleary then hit two from the stripe to trim the deficit to 80-76. The Golden Eagles then fouled, sending Wagner to the stripe where he hit 1-of-2 to go ahead 81-76. Griffin Chase seemed to ice the game with a pair from the line to push the lead to 83-76.

Minnesota Crookston was unable to make up the deficit, as Bemidji State picked up the 85-76 win.

The Beavers and Golden Eagles split for the 2019-20 season. Minnesota Crookston has still won four of the last six games in the series.

The Golden Eagles return in 2020 as they face St. Cloud State University Fri., Jan. 3 at 7:30 p.m. in St. Cloud, Minn.