Golden Eagles Set for First Home Games of the New Year


•  The Minnesota Crookston men's basketball team will look to get back to their winning ways this weekend at home against Northern State and MSU Moorhead. This will be the Golden Eagles second and final time against the Wolves and Dragons this season. The Golden Eagles will look to get back to their winning ways, after dropping three-straght NSIC games. Minnesota Crookston is currently 7-7 overall and 3-5 in the NSIC, which is good for sixth in the NSIC North. It's a big weekend for the Golden Eagles, as they play in Lysaker Gymnasium for the first time in the new decade.

•  ROUND TWO. It's no secret that the last time MSU Moorhead and Minnesota Crookston played, it was one of the games of the year in the NSIC. It was a game that saw 11 ties, 18 lead changes and 14 points from the Golden Eagle bench, with eight coming from junior Chase Johnson and six from true freshman Reed Miller. The Golden Eagles jumped out to a quick start, thanks to Harrison Cleary, who finished with 33 points on the night. Minnesota Crookston trailed by four late in the game, but thanks to some giant stops on the defensive end of the floor, the Golden Eagles were able to go on a 7-0 run to end the game and won by three after Ibu Jassey Demba hit the biggest shot of his life, with a buzzer-beating three from the left corner. If it's round two of that game between these two programs, fans inside Lysaker Gymnasium will be in for a treat on Saturday afternoon.
 
•  HOME SWEET HOME. It's the first home games of the new year for the Golden Eagles and it couldn't come at a better time. The Golden Eagles have lost three in a row, all on the road. This season, the Golden Eagles have just one loss at home, coming at the hands of Augustana, who at the time, was ranked No. 21 in the nation. A season ago, Lysaker Gymnasium was a place where the Golden Eagles didn't lose very much. Minnesota Crookston went 13-2 a season ago, with the only losses coming at the hands of Minot State and Friday's opponent, Northern State. Hopefully for the Golden Eagles, Lysaker Gymnasium is just what they need to get back on the winning track.

•  SOLID 20 MINUTES. In Minnesota Crookston's two losses last weekend, it was a tale of two-halves. On Friday night against St. Cloud State, the Golden Eagles jumped out to a really good start, leading 28-18, before the Huskies went on an 11-2 run to end the half to trail by just one at 30-29. In the second half, the Huskies were +16, winning the second half, 43-27, to win 72-57. The next night, the Golden Eagles got off to a slow start, shooting just 5-27 from the field in the first half, including 1-11 from behind the arc. In the second half, the Golden Eagles shot 15-34 from the field, and cut a once 23-point deficit to just nine midway through the second half. If the Golden Eagles can put together a full 40-minutes this upcoming weekend, it should be in a good spot to get two wins at home.

•  SO, SO CLOSE. The countdown is on for senior guard Harrison Cleary. The Oak Creek, Wis., native is Minnesota Crookston's all-time leading scorer with 2,485 overall points and is 173 points away from becoming the NSIC all-time leading scorer. Cleary currently sits at 1,760 conference points, which is 172 points behind St. Cloud State great Gage Davis, who finished his Husky career with 1,932 points. The top-eight scorers in NSIC history have all graduated from their respective schools, after or during 2012, with Cody Schilling finishing his Augustana career in 2012 with 1,394 points. There are some big names at the top of the all-time conference scoring list and Cleary is on pace to be on top of one of the nation's best conference all-time scoring list. Pretty impressive for Cleary, who had just Division III two offers coming out of Oak Creek, Wis.

•  STATS SAY OTHERWISE. As a team, the Golden Eagles have statistics that suggest that they will get back on the winning track. Minnesota Crookston is ranked inside the top-50 nationally in a number of categories, including 3-point field goal attempts (33rd), fewest turnovers (40th), free-throw percentage (14th) and sit at 10th in turnovers per-game, with just 10.6 per game. The Golden Eagles also are ranked in the top-100 nationally in a number of categories, including blocked shots per game (93rd), free throws made (57th), 3-point field goals per game (76th), total 3-point makes (53rd) and turnover margin (57th). The Golden Eagles are 7-7 on the year, but the numbers suggest that the Golden Eagles could get hot.

•  TAKE CARE OF THE ROCK. Minnesota Crookston has done an outstanding job of protecting the ball this season.The Golden Eagles are third in the conference in both turnover margin and turnover's per game. The nation's leader in turnovers per game is Michigan Tech, who turn the ball over just 8.8 times per game, while the Golden Eagles turn the ball over just 10.6 times per game. The Golden Eagles season high in turnovers is 15 in the non-conference matchup with Concordia-St. Paul, which resulted in a two-point victory for the Golden Eagles. The Golden Eagles have four games with less than 10 turnovers in a game, including a season-low six twice, which both games on the road at Wisconsin-Parkside and Bemidji State

•  EXCELLENCE AT THE CHARITY STRIPE. Despite making just five shots from behind the arc on Saturday afternoon against Minnesota Duluth, the Golden Eagles shot an excellent 19-20 from the charity stripe, including a perfect 11-11 from Cleary. The Golden Eagles are shooting 79.7 percent from the charity stripe as a team, good for 14th in the nation and second in the conference, behind Winona State, who shoots 81.6 percent from the free-throw line. Sure, it helps to have a guy like Harrison Cleary, who leads the nation in free-throws made with 111 and ninth in free-throw percentage and 92.5, but the team is scoring with the clock stopped effectively.

•  EXPERIENCE MATTERS. Javier Nicolau, Malcolm Cohen and Cleary have all helped change the direction of the program. As the Golden Eagles head into their stretch run of the season, they will surely rely on the three seniors, as well as underclassmen, who have played big roles so far. Reed Miller, Chase Johnson, Ibu Jassey Demba and Tyrese Shines are all averaging more than 10 minutes per game this season, something that won't only help the Golden Eagles as they move along in the season, but in the future as well.

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


2019-20 NSIC Rankings
Scoring Offense: 11th
Scoring Defense: 15th
Scoring Margin: 15th
Free Throw Pct.: 2nd
Field Goal Pct.: 15th
Field Goal Pct. Defense: 16th
3-Point Field Goal Pct.: 10th
3-Point Field Goal Pct. Defense: 14th
Rebounding Offense: 16th
Rebounding Defense: 14th
Rebounding Margin: 16th
Offensive Rebounds: 15th
Defensive Rebounds: 16th
Blocked Shots: 7th
Assists: 16th
Steals: 8th
Turnover Margin: 4th
Assist/Turnover Ratio: 12th


Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles
Head Coach: Dan Weisse
Record at UMC: 51-104 Season at UMC: Sixth Season


Northern State Wolves
Head Coach: Saul Phillips
Record at Northern State: 10-4 (219-163 at NDSU, Ohio University) Season at NSU: First Season


MSU Moorhead Dragons
Head Coach:  Chad Walthall
Record at MSUM: 198-96 Season at MSUM: 10th 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

Northern State
Projected Starters
Fr. G 1 Tommy Chatman (6-4 190, Brooklyn Park, Minn.) 8.2 PPG, 3.1 RPG
So. G 2 Mason Stark (6-2 160, Chandler, Ariz.) 14.5 PPG, 3.8 RPG
Jr. G 3 Andrew Kallman (6-4 175, Chaska, Minn.) 8.0 PPG, 4.2 RPG
Sr. G 21 Gabe King (6-5 185, Irene, S.D.) 11.4 PPG, 4.0 RPG
So. F 24 Parker Fox (6-8 210, Mahtomedi, Minn.) 20.2 PPG, 9.2 RPG
Top Bench Players
So. F 23 Jordan Belka (6-7 195, Rogers, Minn.) 4.9 PPG, 3.4 RPG
Sr. F 33 Cole Dahl (6-7 195, Newfolden, Minn.) 6.7 PPG, 2.5 RPG

MSU Moorhead
Projected Starters
Sr. G 1 Johnny Beeninga (6-1, Maple Grove, Minn.) 8.1 PPG, 1.6 RPG
So. G 2 Bryce Irsfeld (6-0, Browerville, Minn.) 13.4 PPG, 2.8 RPG
So. G 12 Gavin Baumgartner (6-4, Plymouth, Minn.) 16.1 PPG, 5.1 RPG
Fr. F 24 Dane Zimmer (6-7, Minnetonka, Minn.) 8.1 PPG, 5.5 RPG
Jr. G 25 Kaedrick Williams (6-5, Grambling, La.) 8.1 PPG, 4.5 RPG
Top Bench Players
Fr. G 3 Nathan Rund (6-1, Fergus Falls, Minn.) 1.9 PPG, 1.3 RPG
So. G 10 Jake Mertens (6-3, Devils Lake, N.D.) 0.9 PPG
So. G 13 Siman Sem (6-4, Fargo, N.D.) 7.2 PPG, 6.0 RPG
So. F 20 Wyatt Hanson (6-5, Stanley, N.D.) 5.1 PPG, 2.3 RPG
Jr. F 32 Joe Sevlie (6-8, Red Wing, Minn.) 5.6 PPG, 3.4 RPG


#Tidbits

NORTHERN STATE. No matter who the coach is, the Wolves are one of the premier programs in the NSIC. Coming off of a split last weekend, the Wolves are currently in second-place in the NSIC North. Northern State comes into Crookston with a 10-4 overall record and 6-2 in the NSIC. The Wolves won the last meeting with the Golden Eagles in Wachs Arena on Dec. 7, 101-58.

SHOOT THE LIGHTS OUT. The last time the Wolves played the Golden Eagles, it seemed like every shot they put up was going through the bottom of the net. NSU shot 25-31 in the first half, which is an astounding 80 percent. That scorching-hot shooting gave the Wolves a 61-27 lead heading into the halftime break. In the second half, the Wolves "cooled" down to shoot just 54 percent. Overall, the Wolves shot a season-high 67 percent from the field, to defeat the Golden Eagles 101-58 in the first meeting between these two programs.

BOUNCE. The Wolves arguably have one of the most athletic players in the NSIC at their disposal. Parker Fox, a sophomore forward from Mahtomedi, Minn., has scored in double-figures in every game this season, including a season and career-high 37 points in 35 minutes in the Wolves win over Winona State, in their previous game. Fox is averaging 20.3 points per game in eight conference games, but was held to a season-low 11 points in a two-point victory over Minot State on Dec. 13. Fox is a tough guard for any opponent.

FOLLOW THE LEADER. Northern State starts only one senior in Irene, S.D., native Gabe King. King has helped lead the Wolves to a solid start through 14 games. The senior scored 11 points in the previous meeting with the Golden Eagles, but at the time, made a season-high three 3-point shots. Although he's not flashy, King is enjoying a solid senior season, averaging 11.4 points per game and 4.0 rebounds per game, while shooting 36.2 percent from behind the arc.

MSU MOORHEAD. The Dragons are in a solid spot in the NSIC North. MSUM sits at 8-6 overall and 4-4 in the NSIC North, after a loss to Winona State on Friday night and a 14-point victory over Upper Iowa on Saturday night inside Nemzek Fieldhouse. Chad Walthall is in his tenth season as head man of the Dragons and brings in a talented team into Lysaker Gymnasium this Saturday.

IT'S DANE, NOT MIKE. Dane Zimmer is enjoying a nice freshman season for the Dragons. The first-year man from Minnetonka, Minn., is averaging 8.1 points per game and 5.0 rebounds per game, while starting in 13 games for Walthall. In the previous matchup against the Golden Eagles, Zimmer scored eight points and pulled down seven rebounds. Hopefully at the same time the Dragons and Golden Eagles are tipping-off, his last name namesake (Mike Zimmer, Head Coach of the Minnesota Vikings), will be celebrating a trip to the NFC Championship. *Insert Fingers-Crossed Emoji here*

BEENINGA! Many people have heard Sheldon from "The Big Bang Theory" say his catch-phrase BAZINGA! many times if they are fans of the show. Senior guard Johnny Beeninga has Dragon Fans saying BEENINGA! The Maple Grove, Minn., native is averaging 8.1 points per game and is shooting 39.3 percent from the 3-point line this season. Beeninga also became the 33rd player in Dragons history to score 1,000 points with a 3-point make, late in the loss to Winona State.

DYNAMIC DUO. Bryce Irsfeld and Gavin Baumgartner are quite possibly one of the best backcourt duo's in the NSIC. Baumgartner leads the team with 16.1 points per game (13th in the NSIC), while Irsfeld is scoring the ball at a 13.4 PPG clip (24th in the NSIC). In the last meeting with the Golden Eagles, Baumgartner and Irsfeld combined for 43 points and made seven three's, led by Baumgartner's 31 and five makes from behind the arc. When the backcourt duo is playing well, it seems like the Dragons are playing well.


WHAT TO WATCH

1. Will coming back to Lysaker Gymnasium give the Golden Eagles a spark?

2. Can the Golden Eagles get back into the win column?

3. First meeting between MSUM and Minnesota Crookston since Ibu Jassey-Demba's buzzer-beating three in Moorhead.

4. Can the Golden Eagles get back to shooting the ball well?

5. Will Minnesota Crookston be balanced offensively.