CROOKSTON, Minn. – Minot State University shot 67.3 percent from the field as they earned the 91-68 win over the University of Minnesota Crookston men's basketball team. The Beavers have won 13-straight games over the Golden Eagles, as they have won all NSIC match-ups between the two schools since the Beavers joined the conference in 2012.

The Golden Eagles went on an 11-0 run to open up the second half and slice the advantage to four at 53-49. However, Minot State was able to hold off the charge and keep Minnesota Crookston at bay as they earned the victory.

Minnesota Crookston falls to 9-11 (5-9 NSIC) with Saturday's loss, as they had a weekend split with a victory over University of Mary Friday. The Golden Eagles are in a three-way tie with UMary and Bemidji State University for fifth place in the NSIC North. Minnesota Crookston is two games back from St. Cloud State University in fourth place. Minot State improves to 9-11 (3-11 NSIC) with Saturday's victory.

The Golden Eagles were led by Harrison Cleary (Sr., G, Oak Creek, Wis.) with 27 points on 7-of-19 from the field, 3-of-10 from beyond the arc, and an unblemished 10-of-10 from the charity stripe. Cleary is closing in on Gage Davis' all-time NSIC scoring record, needing just 29 points to surpass the St. Cloud State great. Cleary needs 133 points to surpass Will Vorhees of Notre Dame College (Ohio) as NCAA Division II's highest scorer since 1992.

Tyrese Shines (Fr., G, La Grange, Ill.) continued his strong play of late with 14 points on 4-of-7 from the field and 5-of-5 from the foul line. Shines has tallied double-figure scoring in four of his last six games. Ibu Jassey-Demba (Jr., F, Birmingham, England) added seven points.

The Golden Eagles struggled from the field, especially in the second half as they shot just 7-of-26 for 26.9 percent. Minnesota Crookston finished the game 19-of-55 for 34.5 percent. The Golden Eagles were 7-of-27 from beyond the arc for 25.9 percent, including shooting just 9.1 percent in the second stanza. Minnesota Crookston had a strong effort from the charity stripe, going 23-of-27 for 85.2 percent.

The Golden Eagles were dominated on the glass by the tune of 39-20. Minot State was led on the glass by seven rebounds from both Kody Dwyer and Stephane Manzi.

The Beavers looked to 28 points and nine assists from Kyle Beisch, who was 11-of-13 from the field. Max Cody chipped in 22 points, seven assists, and six rebounds. Dwyer added 19 rebounds and seven rebounds. Sam Ohlrich led the Beavers off the bench with eight points.

Minot State shot 35-of-52 from the field for 67.3 percent, including going 14-of-20 from the field for 70.0 percent in the second half. The Beavers were 9-of-14 from behind the three-point line for 64.3 percent. Minot State went 12-of-17 from the foul line for 70.6 percent.

The Beavers raced out to a 10-3 lead following a Cody triple. Five-straight points from Shines brought the Golden Eagles back within 10-8 with 16:43 remaining in the first half. A 5-2 run for Minot State pushed the lead out to 15-11 as Beisch drained a trey.

Minnesota Crookston rallied with an 8-3 run as a Jassey-Demba triple off a Cleary feed gave the Golden Eagles a 19-18 lead. The Beavers jumped back into a 27-24 lead as Beisch found Trevor Rothstein in the post for a pair.

Minnesota Crookston would stay in the fray as Cleary hit a trey to trim the deficit to 30-29 with 10:16 left in the first half. Minot State took over from there as they went on an 11-0 run as a Dwyer bucket pushed the lead to 41-29. Minnesota Crookston ended the run with a Chase Johnson (R-Jr., F/C, La Crosse, Wis.) basket to cut the lead to 41-31.

The Beavers responded with a 7-1 run as an Ohlrich trey extended the lead to 48-32 with 3:06 remaining in the stanza. Minnesota Crookston came back to within 12 at 50-38 on a pair of free throws from Cleary with under two minutes left in the half.

A Dwyer old-fashioned three-point play pushed the lead to 53-38 as Minot State went into the locker room with a commanding lead.

Minnesota Crookston looked to put a dent in the lead as Cleary's contested jumpers for falling to propel the 11-0 run and trim the deficit to 53-49 with 17:18 left in the game. Back-to-back jumpers from Cody extended the lead to 57-49 for the Beavers.

Minnesota Crookston did not score from the field for five minutes as the Beavers pushed the lead back out to 12. Quintin Winterfeldt (Fr., G, Waupun, Wis.) hit a bucket to stop the streak and trim the lead to 10.

However, the Golden Eagles went on another five-minute scoreless streak from the field, allowing the Beavers to push the lead to 73-52. Minnesota Crookston could only get as close as 16 with 4:33 left on a Shines jumper, as Minot State held off the Golden Eagles for a 91-68 victory.

Minnesota Crookston returns to action Fri., Jan. 31 at 7:30 p.m., against Southwest Minnesota State University at Lysaker Gymnasium.