Golden Eagles Open 2020 on the Road at St. Cloud State, Minnesota Duluth


•  The Minnesota Crookston will look to kick-off the new decade with a sweep this weekend at St. Cloud State & Minnesota Duluth. The Golden Eagles currently sit in a three-way tie for fourth in the NSIC North. It is a big weekend for the Golden Eagles, who will look to rebound after losing three out of their previous four games.

•  SUCCESS IN 2019. Minnesota Crookston had their most successful calendar year in 2019. Dating back to January 1, the Golden Eagles won 15 games, including winning their first ever playoff game in program history, with a 15-point victory over Augustana. The Golden Eagles have had an even better start to their 2019-20 season, starting 7-5 through their first 12 games. Dan Weisse has the Golden Eagles in a nice spot heading into 2020.
 
•  NEW DECADE, SAME OBJECTIVE. Last season, Minnesota Crookston played their first games in the last year of the decade at home against St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth. This season, to kick off the new decade, Minnesota Crookston will look to do the exact same thing, just a year apart. The Golden Eagles dominated the Huskies on a Friday night inside Lysaker Gymnasium, led by Harrison's Cleary 28 points, which helped propel the Golden Eagles to one of their biggest wins in program history. The following night, Minnesota Crookston won a wild 96-88 game over Minnesota Duluth to get their first sweep a season ago. This year, on the road, Minnesota Crookston has a chance to get two wins over quality opponents.

•  BALANCE. In the Golden Eagles' final game of 2019, the Golden Eagles played a hard-fought game inside BSU Fieldhouse, which ultimately ended in a Beaver win. One thing the Golden Eagles will need more in the new decade is balance. The Golden Eagles got nine points from Javier Nicolau, eight points from Malcolm Cohen and seven from Ibu Jassey Demba. Although it wasn't enough to earn the season sweep over the Beavers, it will be a recipe for success for the Golden Eagles, if those three and Brian Sitzmann can stay aggressive offensively to help out the nation's leading scorer, Harrison Cleary.

•  YOU DO YOU, IBU. Ibu Jassey Demba has been a huge X-factor this season for the Golden Eagles. A month ago, he hit the biggest shot of his life with a buzzer-beating three to beat MSU Moorhead, a win which could loom large for the Golden Eagles as the season moves along. Jassey Demba scored a season and career-high seven points in the loss against Bemidji State, including another watermark of two made 3's. Jassey Demba brings, length and athleticism to the Golden Eagles, who will look for even more in the new year from the Birmingham, England native.

•  USE YOUR LENGTH. Senior center Javier Nicolau has had a solid season in his final season in Crookston. The lanky Spaniard is averaging 7.1 points per game and 5.1 rebounds per game on the season, while starting in all 12 games. Nicolau is also shooting 54 percent from the field and scored nine points in the loss to Bemidji State. The Golden Eagles will continue to look for Nicolau for production in the low-post.

•  NATION'S LEADING SCORER. Over the years, Golden Eagle fans have seen arguably one of the best players in NSIC history. No. 0 has brought the Golden Eagles to success in his 3 1/2 seasons at Minnesota Crookston. Cleary's senior year has been much of the same. Cleary leads the nation in points per game (30.4), free throws made (97), total field goals attempted (240) and is second in total points (365), as well as being fourth in the nation in both free throws attempted (105) and total field goals made (111). In his previous two games, Cleary is averaging 48 points per game on 49 percent shooting from the field, including a 52-point output in a win over Wayne State College, which was a career-high for Cleary. Cleary has scored 20 or more points in nine out of the Golden Eagles 12 games and has scored 30 or more points in five out of the 12 games. The senior from Oak Creek, Wis., is just 218 points away from being the NSIC's all-time leading scorer. It has been a special career for Cleary, who looks like he is saving the best for last.

•  MAKE A RUN. The Golden Eagles are 7-5 on the season and enter the second half of the season with a chance to make a run. The Golden Eagles already have a four-game winning streak to their resume this season, with three quality wins over Sioux Falls, Bemidji State and MSU Moorhead. The Golden Eagles will look to right the ship this weekend on the road against St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth.

•  IT'S THE TREND. Much like last season, the Golden Eagles are turning out to be a quality 3-point shooting team. A season ago, the Golden Eagles had two games where they made 18 3-point shots, including in the playoff win over Augustana. This season, the Golden Eagles have four players with 10 or more 3-point makes, led by Cleary's 45, followed by Malcolm Cohen and Brian Sitzmann's 19 each. Reed Miller is fourth on the team with 13 3-point makes. Although the Golden Eagles haven't been shooting great from behind the arc, the potential is there for the Golden Eagles to be a dangerous team once the deep ball starts to fall.


"Look Good, Play Good"
White Jersey: 4-2
Black Jersey: 3-3 


2019-20 NSIC Rankings
Scoring Offense: 9th
Scoring Defense: 13th
Scoring Margin: 13th
Free Throw Pct.: 2nd
Field Goal Pct.: 14th
Field Goal Pct. Defense: 16th
3-Point Field Goal Pct.: 7th
3-Point Field Goal Pct. Defense: 16th
Rebounding Offense: 16th
Rebounding Defense: 14th
Rebounding Margin: 16th
Offensive Rebounds: 15th
Defensive Rebounds: 16th
Blocked Shots: 7th
Assists: 16th
Steals: 10th
Turnover Margin: 4th
Assist/Turnover Ratio: 12th


Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles
Head Coach: Dan Weisse
Record at UMC: 51-102 Season at UMC: Sixth Season


St. Cloud State Huskies
Head Coach:  Matt Reimer
Record at SCSU: 103-65 Season at SCSU: Sixth Season


Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs
Head Coach: Justin Wieck
Record at UMD: 26-13 Season at UMD: Second Season


Weekly Snapshot
Minnesota Crookston
Projected Starters
Sr. PG 0 Harrison Cleary (6-1 180, Oak Creek, Wis.) 30.3 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 4 APG
RSo. SG 14 Brian Sitzmann (6-4 192, Savage, Minn.) 9.3 PPG, 2.9 RPG
RSr. SF 12 Malcolm Cohen (6-6 210, Detroit, Mich.) 8.8 PPG, 3.3 RPG
Jr. PF 10 Ibu Jassey Demba (6-7 200, Birmingham, England) 4.1 PPG, 3.3 RPG
Sr. F/C 44 Javier Nicolau (6-10 220, Castellon, Spain) 7.1 PPG, 5.1 RPG
Top Bench Players
Fr. F 20 Reed Miller (6-6 205, Appleton, Wis.) 3.6 PPG, 3.3 RPG
Fr. G 13 Tyrese Shines (6-3 190, La Grange, Ill.) 2.6 PPG, 1.7 RPG
R-So. F 21 Chase Johnson (6-8 240, La Crosse, Wis.) 3.8 PPG, 4.6 RPG
R-So. G/F 25 Zac Olson (6-5 225, Waterville, Minn.) 2.8 PPG

St. Cloud State
Projected Starters
Sr. G 4 Trevon Marshall (6-0 160, Evanston, Ill.) 17.9 PPG, 3.6 RPG
Fr. G 20 Caleb Donaldson (6-3, Bloomington, Ill.) 7.6 PPG, 2.3 RPG
Fr. G 22 Anthony Roberts (6-4, Chicago, Ill.) 10.3 PPG, 4.8 RPG
Jr. G 30 Ilya Tyrtyshnik (6-3, Kyiv, Ukraine) 11.3 PPG, 3.3 RPG
Sr. F 42 Diamond Onwuka (6-8, Barcelona, Spain) 6.7 PPG, 5.3 RPG
Top Bench Players
RSr. F 14 Jake Mussman (6-6 205, St. Cloud, Minn.) 1.8 PPG, 1.6 RPG
Sr. F 24 Oliver Ehrnvall (6-8, Uppsala, Sweden) 2.6 PPG, 4.4 RPG
Sr. G 10 Andrija Blatancic (6-7, Bergen, Norway) 10.9 PPG, 4.3 RPG
Minnesota Duluth
Projected Starters
Sr. G 1 Logan Rohrscheib (6-2 205, Eau Claire, Wis.) 11.3 PPG, 1.9 RPG
Sr. G 2 Trevor Entwisle (5-11 195, Neenah, Wis.) 6.6 PPG, 1.9 RPG
Sr. F 10 Brandon Myer (6-8 210, Superior, Wis.) 21.1 PPG, 10.0 RPG
RFr. G 22 Drew Blair (6-5 185, Stevens Point, Wis.) 14.6 PPG, 4.8 RPG
Sr. G 24 Alex Illikainen (6-9 235, Grand Rapids, Minn.) 14.8 PPG, 5.9 RPG
Top Bench Players
So. G 3 Hunter Plamann (6-1 190, Appleton, Wis.) 6.2 PPG, 1.9 RPG
Fr. G 4 Jack Middleton (6-4 175, Edina, Minn.) 6.8 PPG, 2.8 RPG


#Tidbits

ST. CLOUD STATE. The Huskies are 7-5 overall and 4-2 in the NSIC, including a giant win over preseason favorite Minnesota Duluth two Saturday's ago in Halenback Hall. The Huskies are off to a great start, despite having to replace four starters, including former stars Gage Davis and Brindley Theisen. The Huskies are tough to beat in Halenback Hall, going 11-3 a year ago inside their home building and are 6-0 this season.

BIG SHOES TO FILL. The afformentioned Davis is the all-time leading scorer in conference history, so when he took off the Huskies jersey for the final time last season, there's no doubt that SCSU had some giant shoes to fill. Those shoes seemed to have fit nicely for Trevon Marshall. The senior from Evanston, Ill., is averaging 17.9 points per game, up from his junior season, when Marshall averaged 6.3 points per game. Marshall has scored 20 or more points in four straight games, including a season and career-high 31 points in a win over Minot State.

INTERNATIONAL STANDOUTS. The Huskies have had to replace a lot of offense from last years team who made the NCAA Tournament. Two of those guys looking to replace the offensive output come from overseas. Junior Ilya Tyrtyshnik from Ukraine, and Andrija Blatancic are averaging more than 20 points per game as a duo. Tyrtyshnik leads the team in 3-point makes with 25, while Blatancic shoots more than 60 percent from the field and has attempted just four shots from behind the arc. They are very different players for the Huskies, but both are equally effective for St. Cloud State.

RIDING HIGH. The Huskies have used balance and defense to win four out of their previous five games, with their only blemish being to Sioux Falls. SCSU has four players averaging more than 10 points per game, led by Marshall's 17.9 points per game. The Huskies only returning starter, Diamond Onwuka is averaging 6.7 points per game and 5.3 points per game. The Huskies may have found a recipe for success and will look to continue that success into the new decade.

MINNESOTA DULUTH. Justin Wieck is in his second season at Minnesota Duluth, already building the Bulldogs into one of the NSIC's best. A season ago, UMD finished 18-11, but fell in the first round at home to Winona State. This season, the Bulldogs are 9-3 (4-2 NSIC). Although the Bulldogs have lost two in a row, they still sit in a good spot heading into 2020.

WELL-KNOWN NAME. NSIC Preseason Player of the year Brandon Myer is playing like he is deserving of that title. Myer is averaging 21.1 points per game and 10.0 rebounds per game, including a season-high 34 points in a wild three-overtime loss against Southwest Minnesota State. Myer is a matchup nightmare for a lot of opponents.

ALEX THE GREAT. Wisconsin Badger transfer Alex Illikainen is having one solid final season for the Bulldogs. The former Big 10 guard is averaging 14.8 points per game, while starting all 12 games. The senior guard from Grand Rapids, Minn., is shooting 49 percent from the field. Illikainen has seen and played in a lot of big games and has used his experience to help the Bulldogs to a quick 2019 start.

SENIOR DRIVEN. Experience helps, no matter what the sport. Minnesota Duluth starts four seniors, including Myer and Illikainen, as well as a redshirt freshman, Drew Blair, who is a transfer from Northwest Missouri State, the defending National Champions. Justin Wieck has the Bulldogs headed in the right direction this season, and being one of the most experienced teams in the conference is a big reason for the success.


WHAT TO WATCH
1. Can the Golden Eagles open the new year with two wins?

2. Can Harrison Cleary stay hot?

3. Two familiar foes for the Golden Eagles

4. Can the Golden Eagles knock off the preseason favorite Minnesota Duluth?

5. Can Minnesota Crookston bounce back after a disappointing end to 2019?