DULUTH, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Crookston men's basketball team made a late charge Sat., Jan. 4 against University of Minnesota Duluth, but the Golden Eagles would fall short 78-64 at Romano Gymnasium in Duluth, Minn. Minnesota Crookston cut the lead to nine with 3:08 remaining after trailing by 19 at the half and 23 with 18:57 remaining in the second half.

Minnesota Crookston falls to 7-7 (3-5 NSIC) with Saturday's loss. Minnesota Duluth moved to 11-3 (6-2 NSIC) with the victory. The Bulldogs came into the day in a three-way tie for first in the NSIC North with St. Cloud State University and Northern State University. The Golden Eagles are currently in sixth place in the NSIC North.

The Golden Eagles were led by Harrison Cleary (Sr., G, Oak Creek, Wis.) with 25 points on 6-of-20 from the field, and 2-of-11 from beyond the arc. Cleary was a perfect 11-of-11 from the charity stripe.

He added four rebounds and two assists. Cleary needs 173 points to surpass St. Cloud State's Gage Davis for the all-time conference scoring leader. Cleary has 2,485 career points. He needs five points to surpass Drew Adderly of Assumption College for 32^nd all-time in NCAA Division II history, and six points to move past David Chavlovich of West Texas A&M University for 31^st all-time.

Tyrese Shines (Fr., G, La Grange, Ill.) and Reed Miller (Fr., G/F, Appleton, Wis.), each came off the bench for nine points. Shines was 3-of-7 from the field, while Miller was 3-of-8 on the night. Shines and Miller each had three rebounds. Malcolm Cohen (R-Sr., G/F, Detroit, Mich.) notched seven points and six rebounds, while Brian Sitzmann (R-So., G/F, Savage, Minn.) added seven points.

The Golden Eagles were 20-of-61 from the field for 32.8 percent. Minnesota Crookston shot 5-of-27 from beyond the arc for 18.5 percent. They were on from the charity stripe, as they went 19-of-20 from the foul line for 95.0 percent. The Golden Eagles had a strong second half as they were 15-of-34 for 44.1 percent in the second stanza.

Minnesota Crookston out-scored Minnesota Duluth 45-42 in the second half, after trailing 36-19 at the break. The Golden Eagles were out-rebounded 45-30.

The Bulldogs shot 25-of-57 from the field for 43.9 percent. They finished 7-of-23 from behind the three-point line for 30.4 percent, and were 21-of-28 from the stripe for 75.0 percent.

Minnesota Duluth was paced by the play of Brandon Myer, who had a double-double of 22 points and 12 rebounds. Myer was 10-of-19 from the field. Drew Blair chipped in 16 points, as did Trevor Entwisle. Wisconsin-transfer Alex Illikainen notched 13 points, six rebounds, and five assists.

The Bulldogs opened the game on a 5-0 run after a basket from Illikainen. The Golden Eagles responded with a Sitzmann bucket, but Minnesota Duluth came right back with another 5-0 run as they took the 10-2 lead.

Minnesota Crookston utilized a pair of buckets from Cohen to pull within 10-6 with 12:29 left in the first half. The Golden Eagles would stay within striking distance at 13-8 following a Cleary free throw. However, Minnesota Duluth countered with a 23-11 run the rest of the half as the Bulldogs went into the break with a 36-19 advantage.

The Bulldogs came out of the locker room on a 6-0 run as they went ahead 42-19 after Entwisle found Illikainen in the post for a pair. The Golden Eagles responded with a 6-0 run as a Miller jumper brought the score 42-25 with 17:57 remaining in the second half. Minnesota Duluth got the score back out to 20 after a Myer bucket pushed the lead to 51-31.

Minnesota Crookston sliced into the lead with a 7-0 run with a Cleary bucket with 10:47 remaining in the game. Minnesota Duluth countered as they widened the gap to 59-40 with a Yalim Olcay hoop with 8:34 left in the game.

Minnesota Crookston responded with a 16-7 run as they took the lead down to 10 at 66-56 with a Shines bucket. The Golden Eagles were able to trim the lead down to nine points at 72-63 after a pair of Cleary free throws with 3:08 left in the game.

Minnesota Duluth closed the tilt off with a 6-1 run as they held off the Golden Eagles for a 78-64 win.

Minnesota Crookston returns home to face Northern State University Fri. Jan. 10 at 7:30 p.m. at Lysaker Gymnasium.