CROOKSTON, Minn. – Malcolm Cohen hit eight three-pointers on his way to a career-high 28 points as the University of Minnesota Crookston men's basketball team took down University of Mary 71-68 at Lysaker Gymnasium. Cohen hit seven three-pointers in the first half, while Ibu Jassey-Demba (Jr., F, Birmingham, England) picked up his first career double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Minnesota Crookston moves to 9-10 (5-8 NSIC) with Friday's victory, moving into a tie for fifth place with Bemidji State University. UMary falls to 9-10 (4-9 NSIC) with the loss. The Golden Eagles now sit two games back of Minnesota State University Moorhead and St. Cloud State University in a tie for third place. The Golden Eagles have nine games left in the regular-season as they seek to finish in the top four in the NSIC North and possibly host a home playoff game at Lysaker Gymnasium.

The Golden Eagles had a team effort on Friday, as all nine guys who were available played in the tilt. Minnesota Crookston finished the night 26-of-68 from the field for 38.2 percent. The Golden Eagles were strong from distance, as they were 14-of-34 from beyond the arc for 41.2 percent. Minnesota Crookston finished the night 5-of-8 from the stripe for 62.5 percent.

Cohen led the way with 28 points on 10-of-19 from the field, and 8-of-13 from behind the three-point line. He caught fire early on in the first half, and had 23 points in the first half, including seven triples, as the Golden Eagles took advantage of a UMary defense that was trying to limit Harrison Cleary (Sr., G, Oak Creek, Wis.).

Jassey-Demba gave the Golden Eagles energy throughout the night with his 11 points and 11 rebounds, both totals were season-highs for the junior.
Jassey-Demba also played a big role defensively as he guarded a wide variety of positions on the night, including the post, showing his versatility.

Cleary notched 19 points on the night, but just as important were his eight assists and seven boards on the evening. Cleary was 8-of-19 from the field. He now needs 56 points to surpass Gage Davis as the all-time leader in NSIC scoring. In addition, Cleary now has 2,602 career points overall. He moved past Columbus Parker of Johnson C. Smith University and Davis to now sit 20^th all-time in NCAA Division II scoring. He needs 160 points to surpass Will Vorhees of Notre Dame College as the highest scoring player in NCAA Division II since 1992.

Tyrese Shines (Fr., G, La Grange, Ill.) finished with nine points, while Chase Johnson (R-Jr., F/C, La Crosse, Wis.) added five rebounds.

Minnesota Crookston had great passing on the night, as they notched 15 assists to just seven turnovers. The Golden Eagles were also strong on the glass, out-rebounding the Marauders 40-39, including 12 offensive boards.

UMary finished the night going 27-of-58 for 46.6 percent. The Marauders struggled from beyond the arc, hitting at just a 15.4 percent clip. At the line, UMary went 12-of-20 for 60.0 percent.

The Marauders were led by a double-double of 23 points and 12 boards in the post from Matthew Kreklow. Jaylan White added 18 points, while Connor Hellebust and Trever Kaiser each chipped in nine points.

UMary got out to an early 4-3 lead after a bucket from Kreklow. After a three-minute scoreless streak, Cohen's second trey of the game gave the Golden Eagles a 6-4 advantage. UMary moved into a 12-8 advantage with an 8-2 run following two free throws from Kade Amundson.

The Golden Eagles countered with a 12-0 run as yet another Cohen three-pointer put Minnesota Crookston ahead 22-12 with 6:53 left in the first half. Five-straight points from UMary's Kaiser trimmed the deficit to 22-17 with 5:27 left in the opening period.

Cohen spurred another 5-0 run with a triple, followed by a Cleary basket to give Minnesota Crookston a 27-17 advantage. A Hellebust jumper sliced the deficit to 27-19, but the Golden Eagles came right back with a 10-0 run led by six points from Cohen as Minnesota Crookston led 37-19 with 2:08 remaining in the half.

A 4-0 rally for UMary cut the lead to 14 at 37-23 heading into the final minute. The Marauders moved their run to 6-0 as White hit a jumper as time expired in the half as Minnesota Crookston went into the locker room with a 37-25 lead.

The Golden Eagles opened up the second half on a 5-0 run as a Cleary basket pushed the lead out to 42-25. The Marauders countered with an 8-2 run as a Kreklow bucket trimmed the deficit to 44-33 with 15:35 remaining in the game.

After a defensive stop, Josh Sipes nailed a trey to bring UMary within 44-36 with 15:02 left in the game. Minnesota Crookston would push the lead back out to 10 on a Shines basket with 12:40 remaining.

The Marauders came right back with another 5-0 run as they continued their charge, pulling within six at 48-42. A big three-pointer from Zac Olson (R-So., F/C, Waterville, Minn.), who began his career at UMary, widened the gap to 51-42 in favor of the Golden Eagles.

The Marauders would continue to stay in the fray as they were within 71-63 after free throws from Kreklow. Big baskets from White pulled UMary within 71-67 with 1:11 left in the game. UMary continued to threaten as Kreklow hit 1-of-2 from the stripe to cut the deficit to just three with 34 seconds remaining.
UMary had a late chance to tie it but the Golden Eagles got the defensive stop as they took the 71-68 win over the Marauders.

Minnesota Crookston's win snapped a two-game skid as they look to build off the win going into a 5:30 p.m. meeting with Minot State University, Sat., Jan. 25 at Lysaker Gymnasium. The Golden Eagles are looking for their first win in NSIC play over the Beavers, as Minot State owns a 12-game win streak.