Minnesota Crookston Men's Basketball Heads on Road to Upper Peninsula for Thursday-Friday Games at Northern Michigan, Michigan Tech


#TIDBITS

Golden Eagle men's basketball will head back on the road for two more non-conference games before opening up Northern Sun play at Bemidji State next Tuesday. Instead of testing the waters, Minnesota Crookston's ten newcomers and first-year Head Coach Bryan Beamish was pushed into the water chest-deep this past weekend. The Golden Eagles lost in overtime to Missouri Western State and fell to No. 1 Northwest Missouri State, who proved why they are the best team in the nation. The Golden Eagles will look to earn their first win of the season over two solid teams on the road this weekend.

• BEHOLD BLAIZE. It didn't take long for Blaize Sagna to make his mark for Minnesota Crookston. In his debut, the London, England native was outstanding. The sophomore scored 21 points on 8-11 shooting from the field, including a career-high three, three-point makes. Of course, his third three was the biggest, as it tied the game at 70 with 1.4 seconds remaining. Sagna was chosen as the player to watch in the NSIC for the Golden Eagles and that was proven on Friday night against the Griffons.

• ZAY WILL MAKE YOU PAY. Besides Sagna, a transfer who was expected to play a large role this season was Xzavier Jones. The junior from Milwaukee settled in nicely. In his Golden Eagle debut, Jones scored 15 points on 6-16 shooting, while also having career-high in rebounds (7) and assists (3). Jones got to the rim with ease and was huge in the furious rally for Minnesota Crookston, who came back from as many as 16 with just over six minutes remaining. Jones would like to show his former program what they are missing. Jones spent his freshman season in 2019-20 at Northern Michigan, so this will be a homecoming for the now Golden Eagle.

• COLD IN THE SECOND HALF. Defensively against the Griffons, the Golden Eagles struggled to get stops in the first half. Granted, it seemed like everything that Missouri Western threw up towards the rim was going in, shooting at an outrageous 66 percent from deep in the first 20 minutes. 10 of their 17 first half field goals were from long range, In the second half, Minnesota Crookston was outstanding on the defensive side of the ball, allowing the Griffons to shoot 18 percent from deep and 23 percent from the field. It propelled the Golden Eagles to tie the game at the end of regulation. If Minnesota Crookston can get a consistent 40 minutes on the defensive side of the ball, they have to like their chances this weekend and going forward.

• PAINT POINTS. A key indicator of a win or loss is paint points. If you can score them, you have an outstanding chance to win and if you can stop your opponent from scoring paint points, the same goes. Well almost. Minnesota Crookston outscored the Griffons by eight in the paint, with the help of freshman Chandler Meeks and junior Dezmond Washington. Minnesota Crookston will look to continue to carve up their opponents inside the painted area.

• SPREAD THE WEALTH. The Golden Eagles spread the ball around on Friday night. Sagna led the way with 21 points, while Jones and Washington scored 15 and 13, respectively. Meeks was the fourth and final scorer in double-figures, scoring 11 in his collegiate debut. The Golden Eagles also finished with 12 assists on their 30 made field goals as a team. It was a good start for a team that would love to be that balanced throughout 2022.

• NO EASY TEST. After falling to the defending National Champions last Saturday, the Golden Eagles will hop on the road once again and head to the Upper Peninsula for a pair of games. They'll start on the road at Northern Michigan, who is 2-0 on the season and was picked second in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletics Conference and will end their trip at Michigan Tech, who missed the NCAA Tournament last season despite having 21 wins. The tests just keep getting tougher and tougher for the Golden Eagles, but in order to get ready for the tough NSIC, this might be what they want come late February.

• REVENGE TIME. Minnesota Crookston will make the return trip on a 'home-and-home' agreement with both Northern Michigan and Michigan Tech. The Golden Eagles would love to do what both the Wildcats and Huskies did to them last season: win on the road. The Wildcats and Huskies both won by double-digits a season ago. The Golden Eagles would love to return the favor and do the same to both NMU and MTU.

How to Follow
Minnesota Crookston @ Northern Michigan
Date: Thursday, Nov. 17
Time: 7 P.M.
Place: Marquette, Mich. / Berry Events Center
Watch: https://www.flohoops.com/
Live Stats: https://nmuwildcats.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Series Record: The Wildcats lead the series 1-0
Last Meeting: 86-69 win for NMU in Crookston

Minnesota Crookston @ Michigan Tech
Date: Fri., Nov. 18
Time: 5 P.M.
Place: Houghton, Mich. / SDC Gymnasium
Watch: https://www.flohoops.com/
Live Stats:  https://www.michigantechhuskies.com/sports/mbkb/2022-23/boxscores/20221118_f36u.xml
Series Record: 1-0 lead for Michigan Tech
Last Meeting: 83-72 win for the Huskies in Crookston


Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles
Head Coach: Bryan Beamish
Record at UMC: 0-2 Season at UMC: Eighth Season (First as Head Coach)


Northern Michigan Wildcats
Head Coach: Matt Majkrzak
Record at NMU: 41-37 Season at NMU: 4th Season


Michigan Tech Huskies
Head Coach: Josh Buettner
Record at MTU: 22-8 Season at MTU: 2nd Season


Weekly Snapshot

Minnesota Crookston
Projected Starters
Jr. G 4 Xzavier Jones (6-4, Milwaukee, Wis.) 10.0 PPG, 6.0 RPG
So. G 1 Blaize Sagna (6-3, London, England) 14.0 PPG, 4.0 RPG
R-Jr. G/F 11 Matthew Allman (6-6, London, England) 1.5 PPG, 2.5 RPG
Jr. G/F 24 Dezmond Washington (6-6, Morrilton, Ark.) 6.5 PPG, 5.0 RPG
So. F 14 Pedro Rossi (6-8, Bahia Blanca, Argentina) 5.0 PPG
Top Bench Players
Fr. G 5 Chandler Meeks (6-1, Omaha, Neb.) 11.0 PPG, 2.0 RPG
R-So. F 10 Jordan Mitchell (6-8, Columbus, Ohio) 5.0 PPG
R-Jr. F 2 De'Antray Hughes (6-7 New Orleans, La.) 4.0 PPG, 4.0 RPG
So. G 3 Ron Kirk, Jr. (6-4, Milwaukee, Wis.) 4.5 PPG
Sr. G 20 Rambo Badyal (6-3, Kelowna, British Columbia) 1.5 PPG
Northern Michigan
Projected Starters
Sr. G 4 Max Bjorklund (6-2, Orono, Minn.) 23.5 PPG, 6.5 RPG
R-So. G 5 Carson Smith (6-1, Menomonee Falls, Wis.) 11.5 PPG, 4.0 RPG
So. G 24 Brian Parzych (6-1, Milwaukee, Wis.) 11.0 PPG, 4.5 RPG
R-Fr. F 25 Dylan Kuehl (6-6, Hustisford, Wis.) 13.0 PPG, 6.0 RPG
Sr. F 33 Diego Robinson (6-6, Lansing, Mich.) 4.0 PPG, 2.5 RPG
Top Bench Players
Fr. G 3 Max Weisbrod (6-4, DeForest, Wis.) 13.5 PPG, 3.0 RPG
Fr. F 0 Najashi Tolefree (6-6, Milwaukee, Wis.) 4.5 PPG, 3.5 RPG
Jr. G 11 Justin Kuehl (6-2, Iron Ridge, Wis.) 2.0 PPG, 3.0 RPG
Michigan Tech
Projected Starters
Fr. G 1 Marcus Tomashek (6-6, Green Bay, Wis.) 12.5 PPG, 4.0 RPG
So. G 5 Adam Hobson (6-4, Stoughton, Mich.) 18.0 PPG, 3.0 RPG
Fr. G/F 13 Josh Terrian (6-4, Pewaukee, Wis.) 5.5 PPG, 3.0 RPG
Sr. G 21 Eric Carl (6-5, Kaukana, Wis.) 6.5 PPG, 3.0 RPG
Jr. C 44 Tyler Robarge (6-8, Chippewa Falls, Wis.) 1.0 PPG, 2.5 RPG
Top Bench Players
Fr. G 2 Derek Gherezgher (6-3, Brookfield, Wis.) 15.5 PPG, 3.0 RPG
So. G 11 Pete Calcaterra (6-6, Boyne City, Mich.) 3.0 PPG, 5.0 RPG
So. F 30 Brad Simonsen (6-6, Houghton, Mich.) 10.0 PPG, 5.5 RPG


KNOW THE OPPONENTS

Northern Michigan. The Wildcats are really good. They can score, shoot it from deep and it helps when you have the Preseason Player of the Year in your conference in Max Bjorklund, the former Bemidji State Beaver. Northern Michigan will look to get back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2000. Although it's early, Northern Michigan looks like they could do that.

MAX ATTACK.  Max Bjorklund wasted no time entering his name in the GLIAC Player of the Year conversation. Granted, he was probably already there, but his 38 point, seven rebound performance in a win over McKendree was a great start. Those 38 points were the second most of his career, after scoring 46 on the road at Ferris State in February of this year. The Orono, Minn., native has had success against the Golden Eagles, averaging 16.3 points per game against the maroon and gold, including 29 in the win last season.

MAX SQUARED. Another Max has played a key role in the NMU 2-0 start this season. Freshman Max Weisbrod hasn't started a game yet, but he has played a huge role off the bench. The DeForest, Wis., native is averaging 13.5 points per game in 22.5 minutes and is 6-9 from deep, including a career-high four three-point makes last Saturday in a win over Lewis. The freshman Max comes off the bench and helps senior Max in a big way.

FORCE TURNOVERS. In the matchup last season, the Wildcats won by double-figures in large part to turnovers. NMU had 11 turnovers and forced double that, while scoring 32 points on 22 Golden Eagle turnovers. The Golden Eagles have struggled to take care of the ball early this season, so that could play a factor on Thursday night.

Michigan Tech. The Huskies are a solid program in Division II. MTU won 21 games a season ago and just narrowly missed out on the National Tournament, after making it in 2020-21. The Huskies are 1-1 on the season and 1-0 all-time against the Golden Eagles. That lone win came last season in Crookston.

SCORING WITH THE CLOCK STOPPED. Through two games, the Huskies have done a lot of things well, including cashing in at the free throw line. Through two games, MTU is 28-33 from the charity stripe, good for 84 percent. Free throw makes are a huge part of winning in basketball and they will look for that same success in their third home games of the season.

ADAM THE AWESOME. The Huskies leading scorer through two games has been Adam Hobson. The sophomore from Michigan is averaging 18 points per game, including a 25-point output on Friday night in a loss to Lewis. Hobson can really shoot it, burying five shots from deep in his 25-point performance. Stopping the sophomore will be a tough task on Friday night.

REPLACING OWEN. For a program as successful as Michigan Tech, they might not have too much trouble replacing stars that graduate. Although that might be the case replacing Owen White, it is still a tough task. White finished his career with over 1,500 points and was a two-time GLIAC Player of the Year. This season, the Huskies might not have a star like White, but they will still look to be successful without a player of White's caliber.