Bismarck, N.D. – After a high scoring affair last night, Minnesota Crookston men's basketball was back in action on Saturday afternoon to take on the University of Mary from the McDowell Activity Center in Bismarck, N.D.
 
Kai Huntsberry would score 25 points for UMary, including a pair of tough shots down the stretch to guide his team to a 65-60 victory.
 
With the loss, the Golden Eagles fall to 4-9 overall (1-6 NSIC), while the Marauders improve to 4-8 overall (3-4 NSIC).
 
The Marauders would strike first on the first possession of the game on a Josh Sipes layup, but Leonard Dixon (R-Jr., F, Demascus, Ore.) would answer back with a three to give the Golden Eagles a 3-2 lead, which would also be their only lead of the first half.
 
Following the Dixon three, the Marauders would strike back with eight straight points to take a 10-3 lead, but that would be halted by a difficult layup by Ethan Channel (R-Jr., G, Beaverton, Ore.).
 
The home team would stretch their lead to 17-7, but a 5-0 run catapulted by a Jerome Mabry (R-So., F, Milwaukee, Wis.) three and a Zen Goodridge (R-Jr., C, Orlando, Fla.) layup would cut the lead to 17-12.
 
UMary would extend their largest lead of the first half to 13, but back came the Golden Eagles on a 12-2 run, highlighted by a Dylan Hushaw (R-So., G, Las Vegas, Nev.) three and an old-fashioned three-point play from Zach Westphal (R-Sr., G, West Fargo, N.D.).
 
The Marauders would make a baseline shot at the end of the half to take a 31-26 lead into the locker room.
 
Uzo Dibiamaka (R-So., G, Adelaide, South Australia) led the Golden Eagles with six first half points. Minnesota Crookston would shoot just 30.3 percent from the field in the first half.
 
The Golden Eagles would come out in the second half and turn defense into offense. Nathaniel Powell (R-So., C, Nottingham, England) would score half of the Golden Eagles first twelve points to give the Golden Eagles a 36-34 lead, forcing a Jack Nelson timeout.
 
The game would continue to back and forth, but the Golden Eagles would take a four point lead on a pair of Channel and Dixon three's.
 
The Marauders would then answer with a 9-0 run to take a 57-52 lead with exactly five minutes remaining in the game. Channel would bury a three to make it 60-57 in favor of the Marauders, and Dixon would collect a steal and throw down an emphatic jam to cut the lead to just one with two minutes remaining.
 
Huntsberry would come down and drain a tough shot with the shot clock winding down to put the Marauders up by four with under a minute remaining in the game.
 
That shot would prove to be enough as the Marauders held off the Golden Eagles, 65-60.
 
Channel would score 10 second half points for a total of 14, which led the team. It was the second straight game in double-figures for Channel. Dixon finished with 13, while Westphal finished with ten points playing in his home state.
 
Minnesota Crookston shot just over 36 percent from the field.
 
Minnesota Crookston will now be off for about two weeks, before they head down Highway-2 for a date with the Beavers of Bemidji State the second day after the New Year. Tip-off with the Beavers is set for 2 P.M.