MOORHEAD, Minn. – The plan was for Harrison Cleary (Sr., G, Oak Creek, Wis.) to make a last-second play and the NCAA Division II scoring leader did just that. Cleary made a pass to Ibu Jassey-Demba (Jr., F, Birmingham, England) on the wing where the junior college transfer sank his second three-pointer of the season to send the University of Minnesota Crookston to a 68-65 win over Minnesota State University Moorhead. The victory is the first for the Golden Eagles at Alex Nemzek Fieldhouse since a 77-65 win over the Dragons Feb. 28, 2009. The win is the first for Head Coach Dan Weisse in Moorhead. Weisse was a former assistant for MSU Moorhead Head Coach Chad Walthall prior to his arrival at Minnesota Crookston in 2014.

The Golden Eagles move to 6-2 (2-0 NSIC) with Friday's win over the Dragons. Minnesota Crookston matches their best start in program history set during the 2018-19 season. The Golden Eagles are currently in a tie for University of Minnesota Duluth for first in the NSIC North. MSU Moorhead falls to 5-3 (1-1 NSIC) with Friday's loss.

Minnesota Crookston also moves to 3-1 on the road, a huge improvement for a team that struggled away from Lysaker Gymnasium last season going just 2-11.

The Golden Eagles were led by Cleary with 33 points on 10-of-21 from the field, 4-of-8 from beyond the arc, and 9-of-9 from the charity stripe. Cleary had 21 in the first half but MSU Moorhead made him work in the second half, limiting him to 12 points. Cleary is averaging 29.1 points per game on the season, coming into the weekend as the NCAA Division II leader. He needs 349 points to surpass Gage Davis for first all-time in NSIC scoring. Cleary has been on the top of his game of late, notching back-to-back games with over 30 points. He has scored over 24 points in the last seven games. Cleary is currently the reining back-to-back NSIC North Player of the Week.

The key to the second half for the Golden Eagles was the play of the rest of the squad as they helped to deliver the knockout punch to the Dragons despite a second-half in which MSU Moorhead led by four with 2:17 remaining.

Malcolm Cohen (R-Sr., G/F, Detroit, Mich.) added 15 points and five rebounds before fouling out late in the game. Chase Johnson (R-Jr., F/C, La Crosse, Wis.) was crucial in the post both on the glass and defensively, chipping in eight points and seven boards off the bench. Reed Miller (Fr., F, Appleton, Wis.) added six points. Jassey-Demba finished with five points, while Brian Sitzmann (R-So., G/F, Savage, Minn.) had six rebounds.

The Golden Eagles were 22-of-60 from the field for 36.7 percent. Minnesota Crookston hit 10-of-31 from beyond the arc for 32.3 percent. The Golden Eagles were 14-of-17 from the foul line for 82.4 percent.
Minnesota Crookston was narrowly edged on the glass 39-37.

The Dragons looked to a banner night from Gavin Baumgartner with 31 points on 10-of-16 from the field and 5-of-9 from beyond the arc. Bryce Irsfeld added 12 points. Dane Zimmer chipped in eight points and seven boards, while Siman Sem added six points and eight boards.

MSU Moorhead was 23-of-53 from the field for 43.4 percent. The Dragons were 7-of-17 for 41.2 percent from beyond the arc. A key stat for the game was MSU Moorhead shooting just 12-of-22 from the foul line for 54.5 percent.

The Golden Eagles got out to an early 7-0 lead guided by seven quick points from the nation's leading scorer Cleary. The Dragons got on the board with 17:22 left in the first half with a Sem bucket. Sem followed suit with another basket after a defensive stop to trim the deficit to 7-4.

A Cleary triple pushed Minnesota Crookston back in the driver's seat 10-4. However, the Dragons responded with a 7-0 run as a pair of Sem free throws gave MSU Moorhead an 11-10 advantage.

The Golden Eagles would knot the game up 14-14 with a Chase Johnson basket off a Sitzmann assist. The Dragons countered as Baumgartner finished an old-fashioned three-point play to go ahead 17-14.

Miller came up with a crucial trey off a Cleary assist to knot the game up 17-17 with 13:22 left in the opening period. Miller's triple spurred on a 15-5 run for the Golden Eagles as they went ahead 29-17 on another Miller trey with 6:38 remaining in the half.

Zimmer brought the Dragons within 29-19 with 6:20 left in the stanza. Neither team would score for the next two minutes until Wyatt Hanson found Jesse Bergh for a dunk to trim the lead to 29-21 for the Golden Eagles. Minnesota Crookston halted their cold streak as Cleary sank a pair from the foul line to extend the lead to 31-21 with 3:09 left in the first half.

The Dragons countered in a big way with a 6-0 run ending in a Baumgartner bucket to pull within 31-27. A Johnny Beeninga fast-break lay-in moved the run to 8-0 as MSU Moorhead trimmed the lead to 31-29 with 1:27 left in the first half.

Minnesota Crookston ended an over five-minute drought from the field as Cleary picked up his 18 point of the game to push the lead to 33-29. Irsfeld used a pair from the charity stripe to trim the lead to 33-31 going into the final minute of the half. Hanson hit a basket to knot the game up 33-33. Minnesota Crookston used a crucial three-pointer from Cleary as time expired in the half to go into the locker room with a 36-33 advantage.

Cleary led the Golden Eagles with 21 points in the first half, as he went 8-of-14 from the field and 3-of-5 from beyond the arc. Miller added six points off the bench, while Johnson had four.

Minnesota Crookston shot 13-of-32 from the field for 40.6 percent in the opening period. The Golden Eagles were 6-of-17 from distance for 35.3 percent, and 4-of-5 from the foul line for 80 percent.

The Golden Eagles were narrowly out-rebounded in the first half 21-19.

MSU Moorhead looked to Baumgartner for 10 points on 4-of-7 from the field. Irsfeld added seven points, while Sem chipped in with six.

The Dragons were 12-of-29 from the field for 41.4 percent. They shot 2-of-6 from beyond the arc for 33.3 percent and struggled from the stripe, hitting at just a 58.3 percent clip.

Minnesota Crookston scored the first three points of the second stanza as a Cohen basket pushed the lead out to 39-33. MSU Moorhead countered with a 7-0 run propelled by five points from Baumgartner as they took a 40-39 lead with 17:27 remaining in the game.

The Golden Eagles used a Cohen triple to reclaim the lead to 42-40. MSU Moorhead utilized a pair of Baumgartner free throws to knot the game up 42-42.

Cohen again came through in a crucial spot with a trey to put Minnesota Crookston ahead 45-42. Irsfeld responded with 13:20 remaining with a three-pointer of his own to tie the game up 45-45.

MSU Moorhead used an Irsfeld jumper to give the Dragons a 47-46 lead. Minnesota Crookston responded after draining three free throws after being fouled on the three-pointer to put the Golden Eagles back up 49-47.

Baumgartner again came through with a big three for MSU Moorhead as the Dragons went ahead 50-49. Cleary responded on the opposite end to put Minnesota Crookston ahead 52-50. A Zimmer hoop knotted the game up 52-52 with 8:27 remaining.

Minnesota Crookston utilized a Cohen old-fashioned three-point to play to give them a 55-52 advantage. However, Baumgartner proved clutch again with a triple off a Beeninga assist to knot the game up 55-55.
After a defensive stop, Baumgartner drained another triple to put the Dragons ahead 58-55. The Golden Eagles pulled within 58-57 with a pair of Cleary free throws with 5:16 left in the tilt.

On the other end, Baumgartner hit a pair of free throws to push the advantage to 60-57. MSU Moorhead had a chance to extend their lead but Zimmer missed the front end of a one-and-one.

Minnesota Crookston responded as Cleary threaded the needle to Johnson in the post to cut the deficit to 60-59. Baumgartner countered with an old-fashioned three-point play to push the advantage to 63-59.

A Johnson put-back with 2:43 remaining trimmed the deficit to 63-61 remaining for the Golden Eagles. However, Zimmer went untouched to the hoop on the opposite end to push the MSU Moorhead lead to 65-61 with 2:17 remaining in Friday's tilt.

A foul from Beeninga sent Cleary to the line where he drained both to trim the lead to 65-63 with 1:41 left in the contest.

Minnesota Crookston got a big stop on the defensive end as Irsfeld missed a contested three-pointer for the Dragons. Cleary countered as he drove the lane and finished the lay-up to knot it up 65-65 with 40 seconds remaining.

On the other end. Baumgartner was called for the charge giving the Golden Eagles the ball back with just over 20 seconds left in the game.

Minnesota Crookston's plan was for Cleary to make a play. The senior moved toward the lane with the MSU Moorhead defense sagging in on him, that is when he caught Jassey-Demba in the corner, threading a great pass to the junior as the Birmingham, England native drained the triple. MSU Moorhead had one last heave, but it would not go as the Golden Eagles won 68-65.

Minnesota Crookston will continue their road trip as they take on Northern State University Sat., Dec. 7 at 4 p.m., searching for their first win over the Wolves at Wachs Arena in the program's history