CROOKSTON, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Crookston men's basketball team came away with crucial stops and big baskets down the stretch to take down Concordia University, St. Paul 77-72 Friday, January 14 at the Gangelhoff Center in St. Paul, Minn. The Golden Eagles scored 11 of the final 14 points in the final 4:29 of the game to come away with the win and snap a nine-game losing streak. Minnesota Crookston turned defense into offense down the stretch as they had key stops and three crucial steals turned into points in the final six minutes of the game.

Minnesota Crookston improved to 5-12 (2-9 NSIC) with Friday's victory. Concordia-St. Paul dropped to 1-16 (0-10 NSIC) with Friday's loss.

"We handled adversity much better today than we have in certain games this season," said Head Coach Dan Weisse. "That was the difference in the game. The defense was huge and we made some big baskets and some big free throws. But the bottom line is we handled adversity when Concordia-St. Paul was making their runs and we responded well. We have to learn from how we handled adversity today and keep growing as a team."

The Golden Eagles were guided by four players scoring in double figures. Uzo Dibiamaka (R-So., G, Adelaide, South Australia) had 15 points, six rebounds, and three assists. Brian Sitzmann (R-Sr., G, Savage, Minn.) finished with 15 points and five boards. Leonard Dixon (R-Jr., F, Damascus, Ore.) chipped in 14 points and seven rebounds. Nathaniel Powell (R-So., Nottingham, England) added 10 points and six rebounds. Zach Westphal (Sr., G, West Fargo, N.D.) added nine points. Marcus Thompson (R-Jr., F/C, Brooklyn, N.Y.) chipped in seven points.

Additionally, Jerome Mabry (R-So., G/F, Milwaukee, Wis.) and Sam Tiley (R-Jr., G/F, Fort Collins, Colo.) played crucial defense and made some big plays down the stretch for UMN Crookston.

The Golden Eagles shot 24-of-60 from the field for 40.0 percent. They were 7-of-21 from distance for 33.3 percent. The Golden Eagles were also strong at the foul line, shooting 22-of-28 for 78.6 percent.

Minnesota Crookston was outrebounded 37-35, but had 10 offensive boards. The Golden Eagles had 11 assists and nine turnovers.

Concordia-St. Paul was led by Elijah Ormiston, who went 10-of-11 from the field for 23 points. Marcus Skeete had a double-double of 18 points and 12 rebounds. Jack Stensgard finished with 11 points, while George Scharlau came off the bench for 11 points.

The Golden Bears shot 27-of-57 from the field for 47.4 percent. They went 8-of-21 for 38.1 percent from beyond the arc, and were 10-of-14 for 71.4 percent from the foul line. The Golden Eagles turned Concordia-St. Paul over 14 times in the game.

The Golden Eagles jumped out to an early 4-0 advantage after a drive to the basket from Sitzmann and a bucket from Powell. The Golden Bears got on the scoreboard with a transition lay-in from Stensgard to cut the deficit to 4-2. However, UMN Crookston came right back as Westphal drained a triple to extend the lead out to 7-2. The Golden Eagles widened their gap to 12-4 with a Dibiamaka trey with 16 minutes left in the first stanza. The Golden Bears pulled within 14-9 with a Stensgard triple with 14:45 left in the frame. Minnesota Crookston pushed out to a 20-9 advantage after a pair of converted free throws from Thompson. Minutes later, Thompson hit a jumper to push the advantage to 25-13. The Golden Bears went on a 9-4 run over the next two minutes as an Ormiston bucket trimmed the Golden Eagle lead to 29-22 with 9:14 left in the stanza. Minnesota Crookston answered with a Dibiamaka triple to widen the gap to 32-22. However, Concordia-St. Paul came charging back as an Ormiston floater gave the Golden Bears a 9-2 run as they trimmed the Golden Eagle lead to 34-31 with 6:37 remaining in the half. The Golden Bears pulled within 38-37 with 2:17 left in the half following a pair of made free throws by Skeete. Concordia-St. Paul took the 43-38 advantage following back-to-back Scharlau treys. The Golden Eagles pulled to within 43-39 after Thompson made 1-of-2 from the foul line with under a minute left in the first half. Ormiston made 2-of-3 free throws after being fouled on a triple to push the Golden Bears to a 45-39 lead. Dibiamaka made a two on the other end to trim the deficit to 45-41 going into the locker room.

Concordia-St. Paul outscored the Golden Eagles 23-9 over the final 8:18 of the half after Minnesota Crookston had as large as a 12-point lead early in the first half.

Minnesota Crookston was able to pull within 49-47 at the 18:20 mark of the second stanza after Dibiamaka drained three from the line after being fouled on a triple attempt. The Golden Bears fired the lead back out to five with a Stensgard triple to make it 52-47. The Golden Eagles pulled within 52-51 after Westphal sank a pair from the line with 15:37 left in the game. UMN Crookston took the lead back as Dibiamaka dished off to Dixon for the basket to make it 53-52 with 15:13 remaining. The Golden Bears took the lead back 55-53 as Skeete converted an old-fashioned three-point play with 14:43 left in the tilt. The two teams traded leads again as Sitzmann sank the triple to give UMN Crookston a 56-55 advantage. Concordia-St. Paul took the advantage right back on a Skeete trey to give the Golden Bears a 58-56 lead. Concordia-St. Paul pushed their advantage back out to 63-56 as Scharlau sank a trey. The Golden Eagles pulled within 63-61 as Dixon made an old-fashioned three-point play with 9:25 remaining in the game. Minnesota Crookston took the lead back 64-63 as Tiley drained a trey. Concordia-St. Paul was able to take the lead right back 65-64 as Caden Hoffman drove the hoop for a pair.

A crucial steal from Mabry and a slam dunk on the other end gave UMN Crookston the lead back. Concordia-St. Paul responded as Ormiston made four-straight points to push the lead out to 69-66 with over four minutes remaining. Minnesota Crookston pulled within 69-68 with a Mabry put-back with 1:40 left in the tilt. After a steal on the defensive end, Dibiamaka drove to the hoop for a pair to give UMN Crookston a 70-69 lead with 55 seconds left in the tilt. Dixon picked up a huge steal and was intentionally fouled for a technical as the Golden Eagles pushed their lead to 72-69 with 36 seconds remaining. Concordia-St. Paul pulled within 72-70 after he hit 1-of-2 from the foul line with 35 seconds remaining. Dixon sank a pair from the line with 29.5 seconds left in the game. Westphal was able to ice the win at the line with 3.9 seconds remaining as he sank a pair to deliver a 77-72 win for Minnesota Crookston.

Minnesota Crookston will remain on the road next weekend as they will take on Southwest Minnesota State University January 21 and January 22.