ST. PAUL, Minn. – Concordia University-St. Paul closed Saturday's tilt off on a 13-2 run as they used crucial shots and free throws to hold off the University of Minnesota Crookston men's basketball team at the Gangelhoff Center in St. Paul, Minn., for a 92-81 win. The Golden Eagles and Golden Bears fought back-and-forth throughout the night with the game being knotted up 79-79 with 3:05 remaining. Concordia-St. Paul was able to pick up the defensive stops and the necessary points to stave off the charge of Minnesota Crookston.

The Golden Eagles fall to 9-15 (5-13 NSIC) with Saturday's loss. Minnesota Crookston has lost their last five games despite playing two tight games this weekend against Concordia-St. Paul and Minnesota State University. Concordia-St. Paul moves to 7-15 (5-13 NSIC) with the victory.

Minnesota Crookston had great balance offensively as they had four players score in double figures. The Golden Eagles were lifted by 22 points from Harrison Cleary (Sr., G, Oak Creek, Wis.). Cleary has scored 2,735 career points. He needs just 27 points to surpass Will Vorhees of Notre Dame College (Ohio) as the highest scoring player in NCAA Division II since 1992. He is 140 points from entering the Top 15 scorers in NCAA Division II history.

Ibu Jassey-Demba (Jr., F, Birmingham, England) added 14 points, while Malcolm Cohen (R-Sr., G/F, Detroit, Mich.) notched 12 points, and five assists. Javier Nicolau (Sr., F/C, Castellon, Spain) chipped in 12 points, while Tyrese Shines (Fr., G, La Grange, Ill.) came off the bench for eight.

Minnesota Crookston was 29-of-76 from the field for 38.2 percent. The Golden Eagles hit 12 three-pointers, going 12-of-31 for 38.7 percent. Minnesota Crookston was nearly flawless from the line, going 11-of-12 for 91.7 percent.

Concordia-St. Paul won the rebounding edge 38-28. Minnesota Crookston was strong on the offensive boards with 14 on the game. The Golden Bears finished with 18 turnovers on the game.

The Golden Bears had a strong shooting night, going 32-of-52 for 61.5 percent. Concordia-St. Paul was 8-of-12 from behind the three-point line for 66.7 percent. The Golden Bears shot 20-of-23 from the foul line for 87.0 percent.

Concordia-St. Paul had six players tally double-figure scoring. Max Keefe led the team with a double-double of 23 points and 10 rebounds. Jacob Shields added 16 points. Jordan Coblin finished with a double-double of 17 points and 11 assists. Lee Higgins chipped in 13 points and eight rebounds. Cody Carlson also added 13 points, while Carlos Barela finished with 10 points.

Minnesota Crookston has struggled recently on the defensive end as they have allowed 90 or more points in three of the last five games.

Concordia-St. Paul opened Saturday's game on an 11-4 run as Coblin converted a bucket. Minnesota Crookston responded with a 5-2 run as Shines sank a trey to trim the lead to 13-9. The Golden Bears responded with a 10-0 run utilizing a Keefe three-pointer to widen their lead to 19-9.

A Quintin Winterfeldt (Fr., G/F, Waupun, Wis.) bucket drew Minnesota Crookston closer at 19-11. Concordia-St. Paul fired right back with baskets from Shields and Carlson to extend the advantage to 23-11. The Golden Eagles responded with four points from Zach Westphal (R-Fr., G, West Fargo, N.D.), and a pair from Cleary to trim the deficit to 23-17 with 6:06 remaining in the first half.

Shields scored for the Golden Bears to extend the lead to 25-17 in favor of the Golden Bears. Minnesota Crookston responded with a Cleary trey to trim the deficit to 25-20. However, Coblin found Carlson as he sank a trey to extend the CSP lead to 28-20.

The Golden Eagles crawled back into the fray as Cohen found Nicolau for the score to trim the lead to 28-23 with 4:07 left in the half. Minnesota Crookston cut the lead even further as Johnson picked up the steal, followed by Cleary hitting 2-of-2 from the stripe, after the foul. The free throws cut the deficit to 28-25. Carlson countered by hitting a jumper, but Jassey-Demba came right back on the other end by sinking a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 30-28 with an over a minute left in the first quarter.

Keefe hit 1-of-2 from the line for Concordia-St. Paul to push the score to 31-28 heading into the final minute of play. Jassey-Demba remained hot from beyond the arc, as she sank another triple to knot the game up 31-31. The two teams went into the locker room knotted up 31-31.

The Golden Eagles got off to a strong start in the second half as Jassey-Demba sank a three-pointer to extend the lead to 34-31. Concordia-St. Paul came right back as they went on a 5-0 run as a Keefe triple put the Golden Bears up 36-34.

Minnesota Crookston responded with a 7-0 run propelled by four points from Nicolau and a triple from Cohen, as the Golden Eagles took a 41-36 advantage. The Golden Eagles held on to a strong advantage as Brian Sitzmann (R-So., G, Savage, Minn.) scored a pair to push the lead to 49-43.

Concordia-St. Paul responded with a 5-0 run ignited by a Shields trey to close the gap to 49-48. Cohen came up with a huge shot, as he drained a trey to hold off the Golden Bears for the moment at 52-48.

Minnesota Crookston led 57-52 following a Cleary bucket with 10:52 left in the game. Concordia-St. Paul made a push as they utilized a 9-0 run ending with a Higgins hoop to take a 61-57 advantage. The Golden Eagles closed the lead to one point 61-60 with a Cohen trey.

The Golden Bears extended their lead to 65-60 following a Coblin basket with 8:14 remaining in the tilt. A Shines old-fashioned three-point play brought Minnesota Crookston back within 65-63. The Golden Eagles were able to come back and knot the game up at 67-67 after Cleary drained a pair of free throws.

Concordia-St. Paul came up with a response as Shields and Carlos Barela converted baskets to give the Golden Bears a 71-67 advantage. Cleary was able to sink a triple to trim the deficit to 71-70 with 5:26 remaining in Saturday's game.

Concordia-St. Paul continued to hold off Minnesota Crookston's charge as Barela found Coblin to push the Golden Bear lead to 75-70. The Golden Eagles responded again, this time with a 5-0 run culminating with a pair of Shines free throws to tie the tilt up 75-75.

A pair of free throws from Keefe put Concordia-St. Paul back ahead 77-75. Nicolau had the answer off a Cleary assist, knotting the game up 77-77. The two teams traded buckets to make it 79-79 with 3:05 left in the meeting. Barela hit a jumper off a Coblin assist, followed by a Shields three-pointer to push the lead out to 84-79. Minnesota Crookston was unable to hit the crucial shot, and Concordia-St. Paul closed the game out at the charity stripe as the Golden Eagles won 92-81.

Minnesota Crookston remains on the road, as they take on Minot State University Fri., Feb. 14 at 7:30 p.m.