Golden Eagles Look to Get Back on Winning Track at Home Against Minot State
The conference and regular season are moving along. After some uncertainty, the season is six games in. This weekend, the Golden Eagles return home to take on the Beavers of Minot State.

Minnesota Crookston will look to rebound after suffering four-straight losses to the top two teams in the NSIC North. Last weekend, the Golden Eagles continued a pattern by starting strong in both games against nationally-ranked Northern State. The No. 2 Wolves pulled away in both games last weekend to sweep the Golden Eagles.

This weekend should be a fun weekend inside Gary Senske Court at Lysaker Gymnasium as Highway-2 rivals go at it once again in Crookston. A season ago, the Golden Eagles did something they have never done in the Division II era: win against the Beavers. The Golden Eagles went into the Minot Dome and walked away 11 point victors. The Golden Eagles will look to continue that momentum this weekend and two big games for both programs.
BISHOP STRONG
The Golden Eagles family is dealing with a major loss to its family. Former KROX announcer Matt Bishop passed away in December after a long battle with cancer. Matt loved announcing Golden Eagle games and will always be a part of the Golden Eagle family.
WE MEET AGAIN
The Beavers and Golden Eagles are very familiar with each other. Both programs meet twice a year. Up until last season, the Golden Eagles lost 13 games in a row to the Beavers when Minot State became a Division II institution in the 2012-13 academic year. The Golden Eagles did have two wins over MISU when the Beavers were NAIA. It will be two different teams from last season this weekend on the hardwood in Crookston.
THAT'S A WEIRD STAT
When looking at stats this year for the Golden Eagles, they might see something odd. The Golden Eagles and their opponents have SHOT and MADE the exact same number of threes this season. That's right, the Golden Eagles are 42-126 from deep through six games, as are their opponents they have played. The Golden Eagles are shooting 33 percent from deep, as are their opponents. Sure 2020 has been weird, but this stat made 2021 feel weird as well.
WINTER IS COMING
Sophomore Quintin Winterfeldt played his best game as a Golden Eagle last Saturday against the Wolves. Winterfeldt scored a season and career-high 15 points and made a career-high five shots from the field in 25 minutes. Wintefeldt also has back-to-back games with a make from deep and is playing 18.8 minutes per game, which is up from 9.8 minutes per game a season ago.
DILLING DOING HIS THING 
Oshkosh, Wis., native Josh Dilling earned his first two career starts last weekend in Aberdeen. The lefty scored 13 points in both games, including two makes from deep in Saturday night's game. Dilling also averaged 7 rebounds per game over the two games. With starting point guard Georges Darwiche out last week, Dilling got the chance to start and earned his stripes against one of the best teams in the nation.
GETTING COMFORTABLE
Junior College transfer Morgan Carter started the first two games for the Golden Eagles against Concordia-St. Paul, but has come off the bench the past four and is providing a much-needed spark off the bench. The junior from Porthcawl, Wales averaged 7.5 points per game and 3.5 rebounds per game last weekend, while playing a career-high 23 minutes. Carter is a stretch-four who is starting to come into his own in Crookston.
DEFEND THE HOME COURT
The Golden Eagles will be back at home this weekend for the third time in four weeks. So far, the Golden Eagles are 1-3 at home and have struggled in the second half of games in their four games. The Golden Eagles would like to get back to their 2018-19 version at home, where they were almost unbeatable. The year they went to the NSIC Sanford Health Quarterfinals, the Golden Eagles were almost unbeatable at Lysaker Gymnasium, finishing 13-2 at home. Their only losses at home that season were to Northern State and their opponents this weekend, Minot State.

Game Information
Friday, Jan. 22
5:30 P.M.
Minot State at Minnesota Crookston
Gary Senske Court at Lysaker Gymnasium
Live Stats – https://goldeneaglesports.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Live Video - https://nsicnetwork.com/goldeneaglesports/
 
 
Saturday, Jan. 23
1:30 P.M.
Minot State at Minnesota Crookston
Gary Senske Court at Lysaker Gymnasium
Live Stats – https://goldeneaglesports.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Live Video - https://nsicnetwork.com/goldeneaglesports/


2020-21 NSIC Rankings
Scoring Offense: 15th
Scoring Defense: 13th
Scoring Margin: 15th
Free Throw Pct.: 11th
Field Goal Pct.: 12th
Field Goal Pct. Defense: 16th
3-Point Field Goal Pct.: 13th
3-Point Field Goal Pct. Defense: 9th
Rebounding Offense: 14th
Rebounding Defense: 9th
Rebounding Margin: 12th
Offensive Rebounds: 9th
Defensive Rebounds: 14th
Blocked Shots: 11th
Assists: 14th
Steals: 11th
Turnover Margin: 16th
Assist/Turnover Ratio: 15th 





Weekly Snapshot

Minnesota Crookston
Projected Starters
Jr. PG 1 George Darwiche (6-1 188, Bucharest, Romania) 11.5 PPG, 3.0 RPG
R-Jr. SG 14 Brian Sitzmann (6-4 192, Savage, Minn.) 9.8 PPG, 2.5 RPG
Jr. G 11 Ethan Channel (6-4, 190, Beaverton, Ore.) 10.2 PPG, 5.0 RPG
Sr. PF 10 Ibu Jassey Demba (6-7 200, Birmingham, England) 7.0 PPG, 4.5 RPG
Jr. F 3 Leonard Dixon (6-7, 200, Demascus, Ore.) 8.2 PPG, 3.3 RPG
Top Bench Players
R-So. G 2 Zach Westphal (6-2, 155, West Fargo, N.D.) 1.7 PPG,
Jr. F/C 23 Morgan Carter (6-7, 215, Porthcawl, Wales) 4.3 PPG, 2.7 RPG
Fr. G 12 Josh Dilling (6-4, 180, Oshkosh, Wis.) 10.0 PPG, 4.0 RPG
So. C 21 George Blaj-Voinescu (6-8, 210, Brasov, Romania) 2.8 PPG, 1.2 RPG
Fr. G/F 22 Quintin Winterfeldt (6-4 195, Waupun, Wis.) 5.7 PPG, 1.3 RPG
 
Minot State University
Projected Starters
Sr. G 5 Max Cody (6-1, 218, Melbourne, Australia) 14.0 PPG, 5.0 APG
Jr. G 1 Cam'ron Dunfee (6-3, 165, Castle Rock, Colo.) 12.3 PPG, 3.5 RPG
R-Sr. G/F 20 Melvin Newbern (6-5, 193, Robbinsdale, Minn.) 11.3 PPG, 8.0 RPG
R-Sr. F 0 Kody Dwyer (6-10, 250, Zimmerman, Minn.) 10.8 PPG, 5.2 RPG
R-Fr. G 23 Ben Bohl (6-3, 180, Minot, N.D.) 2.7 PPG, 1.5 RPG
Top Bench Players
Jr. G 3 Steven Ross Jr. (6-1, 150, Chicago, Ill.) 12.3 PPG, 6.8 RPG
Fr. G 21 Jaxon Gunville (6-1, 177, Minot, N.D.) 5.5 PPG
R-Jr. F 33 Sam Ohlrich (6-8, 209, Woodstock, Ill.) 4.5 PPG, 2.8 RPG
So. G 2 Kobe Jackson (6-0, 177, Burnie, Tasmania) 0.7 PPG



STUDY THE OPPONENT

Minot State
 This weekend, the Beavers will head into Crookston with two wins on the season, both being over the Mustangs of Southwest Minnesota State. The Beavers have never lost in Crookston in the Division II era and they will look to continue that this weekend.

DOES HE MISS?
For Kody Dwyer, so far the answer has been no. The redshirt senior from Zimmerman, Minn., leads the league in field goal percentage, shooting over 70 percent. Dwyer has missed just 11 of his 41 field goal attempts on the season. Dwyer will look to continue that hot shooting this weekend in Crookston.

DUNFEE FOR THREE
Cam'ron Dunfee is one of the best three-point shooters in the conference. The junior from Castle Rock, Colo., is 11^th in the conference with makes from deep per game, making 2.2 per game. Dunfee has three games this season with three or more makes from long range, all coming against Southwest Minnesota State.

THORN IN THE SIDE
Ever since he's been at Minot State, Max Cody has been a thorn in the side of the Golden Eagles. In six games against Minnesota Crookston, Cody is averaging 10.8 points per game, including scoring 22 and 21 in both meetings a season ago. This season, Cody leads the Beavers with 14.0 points per game and has scored double-figures in all but one game this season. The Melbourne, Australia native is also averaging 5.0 assists per game, which is good for third in the conference. He is a tough guard for almost every team in the conference.

WHAT TO WATCH
1. Can Minnesota Crookston bounce back at home?

2. Can the Golden Eagles make it two in a row over the Beavers?

3. Will the Golden Eagles get their first win of conference play?

4. Defensive side of the ball for the Golden Eagles

5. Guard depth for the Golden Eagles