CROOKSTON, Minn. – Minot State University handed the University of Minnesota Crookston men's basketball team their second loss of the season at Lysaker Gymnasium as the Golden Eagles fell 68-61 Fri., Feb. 15 at Lysaker Gymnasium. The Beavers used a 9-2 run in the second half to help lift them to win over Minnesota Crookston. Minot State had a big second half overall, as they out-scored the Golden Eagles 45-35 in the second stanza. The Golden Eagles went into the break with the 26-23 advantage.

Minnesota Crookston falls to 15-13 (8-11 NSIC) with Friday's loss. Minot State improved to 13-15 (8-11 NSIC) with the victory. The Golden Eagles still sit at 12-2 at Lysaker Gymnasium as they have found great success at the friendly confines of Lysaker Gymnasium. Minnesota Crookston currently sits in a three-way tie for fifth place with Minot State and University of Mary. The Beavers lead the all-time series between the two teams at the NCAA Division II level 12-0.

The Golden Eagles were led by Harrison Cleary (Jr., G, Oak Creek, Wis.) with 19 points on 9-of-21 from the field. Cleary had four assists on the game. Cleary now has 1,943 career points. He needs just 57 points to become the first player in school history to score 2,000 or more points. In addition, Cleary has 1,447 points in NSIC play. He needs nine points to move past Cameron McCaffrey for fourth all-time.

Josh Collins (Sr., F, Minneapolis, Minn.) added a near double-double of 10 points and nine rebounds. Brian Sitzmann (R-Fr., G/F, Savage, Minn.) chipped in eight points. Javier Nicolau (Jr., F/C, Castellon, Spain) notched eight points and six rebounds.

The Golden Eagles shot 27-of-68 from the field for 39.7 percent. Minnesota Crookston struggled from beyond the arc, as they hit just 3-of-20 from the field for 15.0 percent. The Golden Eagles shot 4-of-7 for 57.1 percent from the foul line.

Minnesota Crookston edged Minot State on the boards 38-36. The Golden Eagles had 14 offensive rebounds on the tilt. Minnesota Crookston had 11 assists to 13 turnovers on the game.

The Golden Eagles were strong defensively as they limited Minot State to just 68 points. Minnesota Crookston has typically found success when holding opponents to under 70 points. The Golden Eagles are now 12-1 when holding opponents under 70 points.

Minot State was led by 16 points from Kyle Beisch, who was 5-of-12 from the field and 3-of-6 from beyond the arc. Dorian Aluyi added 14 points and seven boards. The Golden Eagles were able to limit Minot State star David Akibo, as he was held to a double-double of 11 points and 13 rebounds. Akibo paced Minot State to a 92-61 win in Minot, N.D., Jan. 26, as he notched 28 points on 11-of-20 from the field.

Max Cody chipped in nine points.

The Beavers shot 25-of-55 from the field for 45.5 percent. Minot State hit 3-of-8 from behind the three-point line for 37.5 percent. The Beavers shot 15-of-21 from the stripe for 71.4 percent. Minot State had eight assists to 10 turnovers.

Minnesota Crookston opened the game with a 5-2 lead following a Sitzmann triple. The Beavers countered with a 4-0 run as a Kody Dwyer basket gave Minot State a 6-5 advantage. Minnesota Crookston took the lead back at 13-11 as Cleary sank a jumper with 10:43 left in the first half.

A Nibra White bucket tied the game up at 13-13. The Golden Eagles countered with a 5-1 run as Chase Knickerbocker (Sr., G/F, Annandale, Minn.) drained a three-pointer to give them an 18-14 lead.

Minot State responded with a 4-0 run as they tied the game up 18-18 with a pair of Aluyi free throws. The Golden Eagles took back the lead at 24-21 as Gable Smith (R-Sr., F/C, Lodi, Wis.) found his fellow senior Darin Viken (Sr., G, Fosston, Minn.) for a lay-up after Smith secured the offensive rebound.

The Beavers pulled to within 24-23 on an Aluyi bucket. Minnesota Crookston ended the half with a Collins basket off a helper from Chase Johnson (R-So., F/C, La Crosse, Wis.) as the Golden Eagles went into the locker room with a 26-23 lead.

The Beavers tied the game up 26-26 out of the break as Beisch sank a triple. Minnesota Crookston countered with baskets from Collins and Nicolau as they took the lead back 30-26. Minot State countered with makes from Aluyi and Beisch as they knotted the game up at 30-30.

The two teams traded buckets until a Sitzmann trey put the Golden Eagles ahead 39-36 with 10:46 remaining in the game. An Akibo basket for the Beavers cut the deficit to 39-38. Minot State took the lead 40-39 with a made jumper from Cody.

Minnesota Crookston took the lead back 43-42 with a Cleary dunk with 8:12 left in the game. The Beavers responded with a 4-0 run led by a Cody jumper to make it 46-43.

The Golden Eagles cut the lead to 46-45 with free throws from Malcolm Cohen (R-Jr., G/F, Detroit, Mich.) with 5:56 remaining. Aluyi spearheaded a quick 4-0 run as Minot State went ahead 50-45.

Minnesota Crookston would not go down without fighting as Collins hit a bucket, and Cleary completed an old-fashioned three-point play to knot the game up 50-50 with 3:54 left in the game.

The Beavers utilized a Beisch three, and an Akibo old-fashioned three-point play as they took the lead back 56-50. Minnesota Crookston would only get as close as 58-54 following a Cleary hoop. Minot State closed the game out with crucial free throws as they picked up a 68-61 victory.

Minnesota Crookston ended their 2018-19 home slate Sat., Feb. 16 as they take on University of Mary at 5:30 p.m. The Golden Eagles will honor six seniors after the women's basketball game and before men's basketball warm-ups.

Smith, Knickerbocker, Collins, Viken, Aaron Hollcraft (Sr., G, Crookston, Minn.), and former Golden Eagle men's basketball player and current men's basketball person all-purpose person Nate Lorenz (Breckenridge, Minn.).