Crookston, Minn.—It was a long time coming, but the University of Minnesota Crookston men's basketball team kicked off their season this afternoon against Concordia-St. Paul at Gary Senske Court inside Lysaker Gymnasium. A big second half helped the Golden Bears defeat the Golden Eagles, 80-56.

Key Moments
The Golden Eagles got off to a great start, after back-to-back three's from Ibu Jassey Demba (Sr., F, Birmingham, England) and Brian Sitzmann (R-Jr., G, Savage, Minn.), to go up 6-0. The Golden Eagles would extend their lead to eight, following the first-career bucket from Josh Dilling (Fr., G, Oshkosh, Wis.).

Minnesota Crookston would lean on their newcomers, namely Ethan Channel (Jr., G, Beaverton, Ore.) and Georges Darwiche (Jr., G, Bucharest, Romania) to gain their largest lead of the game, at 33-23. The Golden Bears would tie the game at 34, but a Darwiche bucket would give the Golden Eagles a 36-34 lead heading into halftime.

For the Golden Bears, they were led by South Dakota transfer Matt Johns, who was one of five players in double-figures with 19 points.

The second half would be all Golden Bears, who would take their first lead of the game at 38-36, following a Jacob Shields layup. CSP would extend their lead to 61-44, following a 13-0 run.

Minnesota Crookston wouldn't be able to recover from that big run from the Golden Bears.

Key Stats
The Golden Eagles had balanced scoring, with Dilling being the lone player in double-figures. Jassey Demba added nine points, while Darwiche and Sitzmann scored seven points apiece. Channel scored four points, while Leonard Dixon (Jr., F, Demascus, Ore.) and George Blaj-Voinescu (So., C, Brasov, Romania) each scored five points in their Golden Eagle debut.

Minnesota Crookston turned the ball over 19 times, which turned into 20 CSP points. The second half was the difference; CSP shot 65 percent from the field, while the Golden Eagles shot just 25 percent.

The Golden Eagles will look to bounce back tomorrow afternoon against the same Concordia-St. Paul team at 1:30 p.m., from Gary Senske Court at Lysaker Gymnasium.