Golden Eagles Fly West to North Dakota for NSIC Games with Beavers, Marauders


#TIDBITS

Golden Eagle men's basketball will head West to the Peace Garden State for a pair of weekend games with Minot State and the University of Mary. The Golden Eagles hope that a trip to North Dakota will end a four-game losing streak in NSIC play. It won't be easy however, as Minot State has received votes in the COSIDA Central Region poll this season and UMary has wins over Minnesota State University Moorhead and Sioux Falls, who had a win over #2 Northwest Missouri State earlier this year.

• MARAUDER MAGIC. Since the Golden Eagles entered the NSIC, they have had some really solid success against the Marauders of UMary. Since 2006, the Golden Eagles have won nine games against the Marauders, with the first one coming in 2006. The Golden Eagles' longest winning streak against NSIC school is also against the Marauders. The Golden Eagles had a four-game winning streak against the Marauders coming from 2019-2021. The Golden Eagles have won the previous four out of the five meetings, including the last two out of three in Bismarck. Minnesota Crookston will hope for the same magic coming in North Dakota's capital.

• FIRST FOR NAZ. On Saturday afternoon against the Dragons, redshirt sophomore Nathaniel Powell earned his first career start as a Golden Eagle and was solid. The England native scored 11 points, which ties a career-high, while also pulling down six rebounds; also tied for a career-high. Powell also played a career-high of 28 minutes and had 11 field goal attempts, which was also a career-high. It was a good debut in the starting five for Powell and he will look to continue that success this weekend against the Beavers and Marauders.

• HUSH THE HATERS. When Dylan Hushaw has gotten his opportunity to get on the floor, he has been solid. The Las Vegas, Nev., native is averaging 9.6 minutes per game, but is fifth on the team in three-point makes with five, including one last Saturday against MSUM. Earlier this year, Hushaw scored a career-high 13 points as a comeback attempt against Michigan Tech fell just short in the second half. Hushaw has been a nice addition to the bench and could play a larger role as the season moves into the second semester.

• TWO IN A ROW IN THE DOME. In 2020, Minnesota Crookston did something it hadn't done since 2004: Win in the Minot Dome. The Golden Eagles did win at Minot State when the Beavers were in NAIA, but since they joined the NSIC in 2011, the Golden Eagles lost every game they played in the Magic City. The Golden Eagles were finally able to break through in that 2019-20 season by beating Matt Murken's squad in Minot and this year, it will look to do the same in what would be the Golden Eagles biggest victory of the season up to this point.

• SECOND HALF SURGE. On Saturday afternoon against NSIC Preseason favorite, MSUM, the Golden Eagles leaned on their second-leading scorer to try to lead them to the finish line. Although the Golden Eagles couldn't upset the Dragons, Leonard Dixon seemingly couldn't miss in the second half. After being held scoreless and in foul trouble through the first twenty minutes, the Demascus, Ore., native scored 14 points in the second half, including a 7-0 run by himself to give the Golden Eagles a seven point lead. If Dixon can score like that through the entire game, the Golden Eagles will be in a grand position in the second half of the season.

• B CONSISTENT. So many times this season, the Golden Eagles have relied on fifth-year senior Brian Sitzmann for both offense and defense. So many times this season, Sitzmann has absolutely delivered. In the last three games, Sitzmann is averaging 13.5 points per game and has made two three-point makes in each of those past three games. The Savage, Minn., native has six games in double-figures this season and already has a buzzer beater to his name as well for the Golden Eagles. Sitzmann will start his 70th career game this weekend as well, which puts him at sixth in program history.

• FOUR IS MORE THAN THREE. Through 11 games, the Golden Eagles have four players averaging more than 10 points per game: Ethan Channel, Leonard Dixon, Uzo Dibiamaka and Brian Sitzmann. A season ago, the Golden Eagles also finished the year with the same amount of players finishing in double-figures, which was the first time since 2016-17 that happened. If the Golden Eagles finish with balanced scoring and have four or more players finish with double-digits, it will be the first time in program history that has happened two seasons in a row.


Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles
Head Coach: Dan Weisse
Record at UMC: 62-125 Season at UMC: Eighth Season


Minot State University Beavers
Head Coach: Matt Murken
Record at MISU: 122-137 Season at MISU: 10th Season


University of Mary Marauders
Head Coach: Jack Nelson
Record at UMary: 3-7 Season at UMary: 1st Season

Weekly Snapshot

Minnesota Crookston
Projected Starters
R-So. G 10 Uzo Dibiamaka (6-3, Adelaide, South Australia) 10.6 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 3.3 APG
R-Jr. G 1 Ethan Channel (6-4, Beaverton, Ore.) 12.5 PPG, 3.0 RPG
R-Sr. G 14 Brian Sitzmann (6-4, Savage, Minn.) 10.2 RPG, 2.7 RPG
R-Jr. F 11 Leonard Dixon (6-7, Demascus, Ore.) 11.9 PPG, 6.6 RPG
R-Jr. C 15 Zen Goodridge (6-8, Orlando, Fla.) 3.5 PPG, 5.5 RPG
Top Bench Players
R-Sr. G 2 Zach Westphal (6-2, West Fargo, N.D.) 4.0 PPG, 1.9 RPG
R-Jr. F 23 Marcus Thompson (6-6, Brooklyn, N.Y.) 1.6 PPG, 1.3 RPG
R-So. C 13 Nathaniel Powell (6-9, Nottingham, England) 5.3 PPG, 3.7 RPG
R-So. G 3 Dylan Hushaw (6-2, Las Vegas, Nev.) 2.9 PPG 1.8 RPG
Minot State University
Projected Starters
R-Sr. F 0 Kody Dwyer (6-10, Zimmerman, Minn.) 12.2 PPG, 4.6 RPG
Sr. G 3 Cam'ron Dunfee (6-3, Castle Rock, Colo.) 14.2 PPG, 2.9 RPG
R-Fr. G 5 Ben Bohl (6-3, Minot, N.D.) 6.2 PPG, 3.0 RPG
Sr. G 5 Max Cody (6-1, Melbourne, Australia) 10.7 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 7.9 APG
Sr. F 23 Melvin Newburn (6-5, Robbinsdale, Minn.) 14.6 PPG, 9.8 RPG
Top Bench Players
Sr. F 2 Eli Cave (6-7, St. Paul, Minn.) 10.0 PPG, 3.4 RPG
Fr. G 24 Jackson Gunville (6-0, Minot, N.D.) 9.6 PPG, 1.5 RPG
R-Jr. F 33 Sam Ohlrich (6-8, Woodstock, Ill.) 4.7 PPG, 2.3 RPG
University of Mary
Projected Starters
Jr. G 10 Kai Huntsberry (6-3, New Orleans, La.) 19.3 PPG, 5.5 RPG
So. G 23 Treyton Mattern (6-2, Bismarck, N.D.) 3.9 PPG, 2.8 RPG
Jr. G 24 Kam Warrens (6-5, Antelope, Calif.) 8.7 PPG, 6.8 RPG
Jr. F 32 Gertautas Urbonavicius (6-7, Vilnus, Lithuania) 9.6 PPG, 4.6 RPG
Jr. F 42 Kade Amundson (6-6, Bismarck, N.D.) 5.3 PPG, 2.7 RPG
Top Bench Players
Jr. G 4 Jacob Jackson (6-6, Sacramento, Calif.) 9.1 PPG, 4.5 RPG
Jr. G 34 Josh Sipes (6-3, Bismarck, N.D.) 5.2 PPG
So. G 1 Matthew Johnson (6-1, Fergus Falls, Minn.) 3.6 PPG
So. F 14 Regan Tollefson (6-6, Chanhassen, Minn.) 3.3 PPG

NSIC Rankings
Scoring Offense: 15th
Scoring Defense: 7th
Scoring Margin: 14th
Free Throw Pct.: 16th
Field Goal Pct.: 14th
Field Goal Pct. Defense: 3rd
3-Point Field Goal Pct.: 7th
3-Point Field Goal Pct. Defense: 10th
Rebounding Offense: 10th
Rebounding Defense: 15th
Rebounding Margin: 14th
Blocked Shots: 5th
Assists: 14th
Steals: 12th
Turnover Margin: 16th
Assist/Turnover Ratio: 16th
Offensive Rebounds: 10th
Defensive Rebounds: 6th

#OPPONENTOUTLOOK

MINOT STATE. It's a roster full of experience and senior leadership for Matt Murken and his squad. The Beavers have six seniors on the roster, including sixth-year point guard Max Cody. The Beavers are off to a great start this season, sitting at 8-3 and consistently getting votes in the Central Region poll. The Beavers have beaten the Golden Eagles all but once in the Magic City.

A DIAPER DANDY.  Australia native Max Cody is one of the best guards in the entire conference and there could be an argument for being the best in the nation. Cody is currently averaging 10.7 points per game, but has scored in double-figures in four straight conference games. Cody also is averaging over four rebounds per game and is currently third in the nation and first in the NSIC with 7.9 assists per game. He tops the entire nation with his 87 assists and is 20th in assists to turnover ratio. The senior has two double-doubles on the season and has had games where he has had 14, 13 and 11 assists this season. Cody is one of the best at his craft and will be tough to stop this weekend.

MELVIN MANIA. Speaking of double-doubles, Cody's teammate Melvin Newburn has them almost on a nightly basis. The senior from Robbinsdale, Minn., has a whopping six double-doubles on the season, including in the previous game against St. Cloud State in St. Cloud. Newburn leads the team in scoring at almost 15 per game and had a season-high 28 against Valley City State. Newburn was named to the NSIC Honorable Mention Team a season ago as well. The transfer from Montana State Billings is the best scorer on one of the better teams in the NSIC.

DOMINATE DWYER. The big thing about guarding Kody Dwyer is to try to keep him out of the paint. The thing is, that is far easier said than done, because most teams haven't been able to do that this season. The redshirt senior from Zimmerman, Minn., is shooting 64-87 from the field this season, which is 73.6 percent from the field. 73.6 PERCENT! The most shots Dwyer has missed in a game this season was only five against Ouachita Baptist, where he shot 8-13. The lefty has a 10-10 and 12-15 game to his credit this season as well. The 73.6 shooting percentage is tops in the NSIC by a fairly decent margin, as Anthony Roberts is currently second in field goal percentage at 68.6 percent.

UNIVERSITY OF MARY. The Marauders are in their first season under the direction of Jack Nelson, who comes to UMary after being the top assistant at another NSIC school, Sioux Falls. Although they are a fairly new team with a number of newcomers, the Marauders do have a pair of really nice wins against Sioux Falls and Minnesota State Moorhead. UMary comes into this game at 3-7 overall and are right above the Golden Eagles in the conference with a 2-3 record.

ON THE HUNT. Kai Huntsberry is one of those Marauder newcomers and his footprints have been noticed so far for Jack Nelson and his squad. In fact, the New Orleans native is the lone Marauder averaging double-figures this season, coming into this weekend at 19.3 per game, which puts him at fifth in the NSIC and tops all newcomers in the conference. Huntsberry has scored 20 or more points in six games this season, including a stretch of five straight games. Huntsberry can hurt teams in a variety of ways, including from the charity stripe, where he is shooting 80 percent from the field.

STAYING IN THE NSIC. Jack Nelson knows what it takes to win in the NSIC. Before being tabbed as the Marauders head coach, Nelson spent three seasons as Associate Head Coach of the University of Sioux Falls. Before his time at USF, Nelson also spent time as an assistant at Minot State, where he helped guide the Beavers to three double-digit win seasons. Nelson has a solid staff for his first season as well, including former South Dakota State Jackrabbit Michael Orris, who played twice in the NCAA Tournament and played at Kansas State and Northern Illinois, as well as in the G-League.

TIGHT GAMES. When the Golden Eagles and Marauders match-up, there is a decent chance that it could be a game that comes down to the final minutes. In the previous 15 games between these two programs, seven of those have been decided by 10 or less, including a pair of three point wins that were in favor of the Golden Eagles. It should be a fun one when these two teams lace 'em up on Saturday afternoon in the MAC.