CROOKSTON, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Duluth overcame a 22-point deficit early in the second half to win an overtime thriller 90-84 against the University of Minnesota Crookston men's basketball team. Harrison Cleary knotted the game up 75-75 to force overtime after the Bulldogs outscored Minnesota Crookston 47-31 in the second half. The Bulldogs tipped the scale 15-9 in the overtime period to earn the six-point victory.

Minnesota Crookston falls to 11-16 (7-14 NSIC) with the loss. Minnesota Duluth moves to 20-7 (15-6 NSIC). The Bulldogs are currently No. 2 in the NSIC North. The Golden Eagles are sixth in the NSIC North. They are currently slated to play Winona State in the first round of the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament with one game left to be played in the regular season.

The Golden Eagles looked to Harrison Cleary (Sr., G, Oak Creek, Wis.) with 25 points on 9-of-17 from the field, and 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. Malcolm Cohen (R-Sr., G/F, Detroit, Mich.) had a strong game with a near double-double of 19 points and nine rebounds. Cleary added six assists.

Brian Sitzmann (R-So., G, Savage, Minn.) chipped in with nine points. Ibu Jassey-Demba (Jr., F, Birmingham, England), Javier Nicolau (Sr., F/C, Castellon, Spain), and Tyrese Shines (Fr., G, La Grange, Ill.) each finished with eight points. Shines added six rebounds.

The Golden Eagles were 33-of-71 from the field for 46.5 percent. They were 11-of-32 from beyond the arc for 34.4 percent. Minnesota Crookston was 7-of-10 from the stripe.

Cleary moved to 2,808 career points in his career. He becomes the 16^th player in NCAA Division II history to score over 2,800 career points. Cleary needs 70 points to surpass Ed Murphy of Merrimack for 15h all-time in NCAA Division II history.

Minnesota Crookston had 19 turnovers on the game. The Golden Eagles won the battle on the glass 42-40. Each team had 13 offensive rebounds on the game.

Minnesota Duluth looked to Brandon Myer on Friday, as he finished with a double-double of 44 points and 13 rebounds. Drew Blair finished with 26 points on 10-of-17 from the field. Mason Steffen chipped in for seven points off the bench.

The Bulldogs were 32-of-70 from the field for 45.7 percent. UMD was 7-of-26 for 26.9 percent. Minnesota Duluth finished 19-of-25 from the stripe for 76.0 percent.

The Golden Eagles put together one their best 20 minutes of the season in the first half, as they led Minnesota Duluth 44-28 at the half, after leading by as many as 20 points early in the stanza.

Minnesota Crookston used six points from Cohen, and five from Sitzmann to race out to a 16-4 lead. A Blair three-pointer brought the Bulldogs back within 16-7 with 14:59 remaining in the half.

The Golden Eagles continued their early dominance as a Chase Johnson (R-Jr., F/C, La Crosse, Wis.) put-back pushed the lead out to 26-9 with 9:56 left in the first half. Blair brought Minnesota Duluth within 12 points as he hit a triple.

Cleary combatted Blair's three with one of his own, as he scored his first points of the game to widen the gap back out to 15 points at 29-14. Minnesota Crookston would be able to push their lead out to 20 points after a Jassey-Demba trey with 1:38 left in the half to make it 44-24.

The Bulldogs would slice the lead down to 44-28 following a free throw from Myer. That would be the tally going into the break.
Minnesota Crookston started off the second half strong, as Cleary found Nicolau for a clutch dunk, and Cohen hit two big free throws to widen the lead to 50-30. A Jassey-Demba fast-break basket off a Nicolau assist extended the lead to 22 points.

Minnesota Duluth made a move as they used an 8-0 run followed by a Myer basket as they trimmed the deficit to 54-40. A Cleary triple gave Minnesota Crookston a 17-point lead advantage with 14:34 remaining in the tilt.

The Bulldogs fought back as they went on a 14-6 run spurred on by nine points from Myer, as they trimmed the lead to 60-54 with 8:31 remaining in the stanza. Cohen came up with a crucial old-fashioned play to push the lead back out to 63-43. A Shines basket extended the lead to 11 at 65-43 with 7:50 left in the tilt.

The Golden Eagles would have an 11-point lead following a Sitzmann bucket with 5:20 remaining in the game. Myer finished off an 11-0 run as a response for the Bulldogs as UMD knotted the game up 66-69 with 2:18 left in the game. A Logan Rohrscheib bucket extended the run to 13-0 and gave the Bulldogs a 71-69 advantage.

Minnesota Duluth would hold a 75-73 advantage after a basket from Blair with 24 seconds remaining. Cleary would look to get to hoop for the equalizer, where he was fouled. Cleary, one of the nation's top free throw shooters throughout his career,
drained both free throws to tie the game up 75-75. Blair would miss a jumper as the buzzer went off, as the two teams went to overtime.

Minnesota Crookston scored first in the extra period as Cleary found Nicolau for the dunk to make it 77-75. An old-fashioned three-point play from Blair gave Minnesota Duluth the 78-77 lead. The Bulldogs would be able to widen the gap to 81-77 on an old-fashioned three-point play from Myer.

The Golden Eagles cut the deficit to 81-79 on a Cohen bucket. Minnesota Duluth countered with a 4-0 run as a Blair bucket pushed the lead to 85-79. An old-fashioned three-point play from Shines cut the deficit to 85-82. The Bulldogs responded with a pair of Steffen free throws to push out to an 87-82 lead.

A Cohen bucket brought Minnesota Crookston within 87-84 with 32 seconds left in the game. A Rohrscheib free throw gave Minnesota Duluth an 88-84 advantage and they would hold on to pick up the 90-84 victory.

Minnesota Crookston will wrap up the regular-season Sat., Feb. 22 at 5:30 p.m., against St. Cloud State University. The Golden Eagles will honor their seniors Cleary, Cohen, and Nicolau prior to Saturday's tilt.