This weekend is the final home games of the 2021 season for the Golden Eagles men's basketball team. St. Cloud State comes into Gary Senske Court at Lysaker Gymnasium for two games with the Golden Eagles.

The Golden Eagles will look to bounce back this weekend at home for one final time of the regular season. Minnesota Crookston was swept at the hands of Minnesota Duluth a weekend ago. Minnesota Crookston will celebrate senior night this Saturday, honoring their lone senior, Ibu Jassey Demba.

The Huskies have had the Golden Eagles number as of late. Minnesota Crookston and St. Cloud State have split their last two games inside Lysaker Gymnasium the previous two years. Minnesota Crookston dominated the matchup two years ago, defeating St. Cloud State, 76-57. The Golden Eagles will look to gain that magic this weekend against the Huskies.

FAN POLICY
Friday and Saturday's games will be the first where fans are allowed. Fans should arrive no sooner than 30 minutes before game time each day. All games are free admission for fans. Two people per player for both teams will be permitted to enter the game. Your name must be on a pass list as you enter the south doors of the Crookston Sports Center. Fans must remain masked for the entirety of the game. No food or drinks are permitted. Fans must remain six ft. away from other fans. No walk-up admissions will be allowed. Fans must exit Lysaker Gymnasium immediately following this weekend's games.

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.

THANK YOU IBU
Senior forward Ibu Jassey Demba will play his final two games of his Golden Eagle career inside Lysaker Gymnasium this weekend. The Birmingham, England has been a mainstay in the Golden Eagle lineup, starting in 36 of the possible 39 games played in his two seasons. Jassey Demba scored in double-figures twice a season ago, including a career-high 14 points at Concordia-St. Paul. The forward has 14 makes from deep this season as well. Jassey Demba has made a positive impact on the Golden Eagle program that will be felt for years to come.

UNDERCLASSMEN LEAD THE WAY
Minnesota Crookston has had some bumps and bruises along the way this season. However, there have been some bright spots as well. Of those bright spots, one might look at the fact that the Golden Eagles top three leading scorers are all underclassmen, including freshman Josh Dilling, who leads the team in scoring at 13.6 points per game. Brian Sitzmann and Leonard Dixon are scoring at clips of 10.6 and 10.4 per game. All three will be back next season for the Golden Eagles.

AUTOMATIC
The Golden Eagles have been an excellent free throw shooting team under the direction of Dan Weisse. Sure, it helped that Harrison Cleary, the NSIC's all-time leading scorer, missed just 49 of his 682 attempts, good for 94 percent in his career. Fellow Wisconsin native and freshman Josh Dilling looks to be well on his way to not missing very much from the charity stripe. The lefty is second in the conference in free throw shooting this season, going 36/40 from the charity stripe, good for 90 percent from the field. Yet another special player from Wisconsin for the Golden Eagles. Sound familiar?
END ON A HIGH NOTE 
In the past, Minnesota Crookston made it difficult for opponents to come into Crookston and leave with a W. Two years ago, when Minnesota Crookston set a school record for wins, they also set a school record for home wins, finishing 13-2. A season ago, the Golden Eagles finished with five wins. In the last three seasons, the maroon and gold have 27 wins at home, which is the most in a three year span in program history. Minnesota Crookston will look to defend home court this weekend against the Huskies.

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR?
It's not out of consideration that Josh Dilling could be the best freshman in the NSIC. Dilling is second among all freshmen in scoring at 13.0 points per game, just behind Joshua Brown of Minnesota Duluth. In his last five games, the Oshkosh, Wis., is averaging 18 points per game, including scoring 50 points in a two game span against Minot State and UMary. Dilling could be pushing to be the second Golden Eagle to win the NSIC freshman of the year.

WAUPUN REPRESENT
Waupun, Wis., native has made some nice improvements in year two in a Golden Eagle uniform. Winterfeldt is averaging over 5 points per game this season and has seen his minutes improve drastically this season. Winterfeldt might be the best perimeter defender has and he could be one of the main guys to defend Anthony Roberts of SCSU.

Game Information
Friday, Feb. 12
5:30 P.M.
St. Cloud 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, Feb. 13
1:30 P.M.
St. Cloud 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: 16th
Scoring Defense: 13th
Scoring Margin: 16th
Free Throw Pct.: 8th
Field Goal Pct.: 15th
Field Goal Pct. Defense: 16th
3-Point Field Goal Pct.: 13th
3-Point Field Goal Pct. Defense: 9th
Rebounding Offense: 15th
Rebounding Defense: 12th
Rebounding Margin: 14th
Offensive Rebounds: 13th
Defensive Rebounds: 14th
Blocked Shots: 11th
Assists: 14th
Steals: 14th
Turnover Margin: 14th
Assist/Turnover Ratio: 13th 



Weekly Snapshot

Minnesota Crookston
Projected Starters
Jr. PG 1 George Darwiche (6-1 188, Bucharest, Romania) 6.4 PPG, 1.6 RPG
R-Jr. SG 14 Brian Sitzmann (6-4 192, Savage, Minn.) 10.6 PPG, 3.1 RPG
Fr. G 12 Josh Dilling (6-4, 180, Oshkosh, Wis.) 13.0 PPG, 3.9 RPG
Sr. PF 10 Ibu Jassey Demba (6-7 200, Birmingham, England) 7.9 PPG, 5.6 RPG
Jr. F 3 Leonard Dixon (6-7, 200, Demascus, Ore.) 10.4 PPG, 4.5 RPG
Top Bench Players
R-So. G 2 Zach Westphal (6-2, 155, West Fargo, N.D.) 2.1 PPG,
Jr. F/C 23 Morgan Carter (6-7, 215, Porthcawl, Wales) 2.7 PPG, 2.5 RPG
Jr. G 11 Ethan Channel (6-4, 190, Beaverton, Ore.) 10.0 PPG, 4.9 RPG
So. G/F 22 Quintin Winterfeldt (6-4 195, Waupun, Wis.) 5.2 PPG, 1.0 RPG
St. Cloud State University
Projected Starters
Jr. G 10 Ryan Bagley (6-3, Pocatello, Idaho) 8.1 PPG, 4.8 RPG
So. G 20 Caleb Donaldson (6-4, Bloomington, Ill.) 17.1 PPG, 4.0 RPG
So. G 22 Anthony Roberts (6-4, Chicago, Ill.) 21.4 PPG, 8.1 RPG
Sr. G 34 Ilya Tyrtyshnik (6-3, Kyiv, Ukraine) 13.8 PPG, 3.3 RPG
Fr. F 40 Josh Tomasi (6-10, Melbourne, Australia) 10.7 PPG, 6.2 RPG
Top Bench Players
R-Fr. F 14 Nick Grantham (6-6, Melbourne, Australia) 2.3 PPG, 2.0 RPG
Fr. G 4 Joe Mutimer (6-0, Melbourne, Australia) .7 PPG
Fr. F 24 Matthew Willert (6-6, Buffalo, Minn.) 9.1 PPG, 3.0 RPG
Jr. F 32 Ethan Schuemer (6-6, Lombard, Ill.) 5.2 PPG, 2.3 RPG



STUDY THE OPPONENT

St. Cloud State
 
Much like last weekend's opponent, Minnesota Duluth, St. Cloud State is really young, but really talented. SCSU is coming off a weekend that saw them get swept by the Beavers of Bemidji State in St. Cloud. The Huskies will look to rebound this weekend in Crookston.

ANT MAN
 
Sophomore Anthony Roberts is unreal in all aspects for the Huskies. Roberts is a native of Chicago, Ill., which is rich with basketball talent. The second year Husky has scored double-figures in every game this season, including a 34 point output in a win over Concordia-St. Paul. Roberts has four games this season with 25 or more points on the season. Roberts leads the conference in scoring at 22.1 PPG and is sixth in rebounds, pulling down 8.3 per game. Roberts might be the best scorer in the NSIC and will be a tough matchup this weekend for the Golden Eagles.

STELLAR SOPHOMORE
 
Yet another star sophomore for the Huskies is Bloomington, Ill., native Caleb Donaldson. The Huskies enjoyed recruiting in the Prairie State to come away with both Roberts and Donaldson. Donaldson is eighth in the conference in scoring, scoring at a 17.1 points per game clip. In a Jan. 8 win over UMary, Donaldson scored 33 points on a remarkable 14/15 from the field, without taking a shot from deep. Donaldson takes really good shots and that's evident with his 56 percent shooting from the field. Donaldson simply doesn't miss.

SCORE AT WILL
 
Evident by having two of the top ten scorers in the conference, the Huskies can score the ball at will. SCSU is fourth in the conference in scoring at 81.9 points per game on the season. In four of their five wins this season, SCSU has scored more than 80 points. The only win they didn't score 80 in, they only managed to put up 78. Although their defense is one of the worst statistically in the conference, their ability to put the ball in the hoop makes up for their defensive struggles.

WHAT TO WATCH
1. Can Minnesota Crookston get a win at home?

2. Last Home weekend of 2021

3. What team can get key stops?

4. Huskies looking to rebound after getting swept by Bemidji State

5. Can Josh Dilling continue his excellent freshman campaign?