Minnesota Crookston Men Open Up NSIC Play with Highway-2 Rivals Bemidji State on Tuesday

How to Follow
Minnesota Crookston @ Bemidji State
Tuesday, Nov. 7
5:30 P.M.
NSIC 
Bemidji, Minn. / BSU Gymnasium
Live Stats -- https://bsubeavers.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Watch Live -- https://nsicnetwork.com/bsubeavers/
Listen Live -- http://beaverradionetwork.com/
 
#Tidbits
 
Golden Eagle men's basketball will look for win number one this Tuesday as they make the 70 mile trek to Bemidji for the conference opener at Bemidji State. This will be the third true road game of the young season for the Golden Eagles, who lost in overtime in the season opener at Missouri Western State and then fell to Northern Michigan and Michigan Tech this past weekend. The Beavers have won four out of the last five meetings, including five-straight in Bemidji. The Golden Eagles will look for their first win in Bemidji since 2017.
 
·         ZAY IS A STAR. Xzavier Jones has been as consistent as they come this season. The junior from Milwaukee is second on his team with 12.3 points per game and leads the Golden Eagles with 7.3 rebounds per game. Jones is also averaging over 2.5 assists per game and leads the team in minutes played at 32.3. Jones has scored in double-figures in all but one game this season and scored a career-high 15 points twice against Missouri Western State and his old team, Northern Michigan. Jones collected his first double-double of his Golden Eagle career against the Wildcats, while also pulling down 10 rebounds and dished out a career-high five dimes. Jones has had an outstanding start to his Golden Eagle career.
·         THE TALES OF THOMPSON. Redshirt senior Marcus Thompson had a bit of a slow start to this season, but he has really started to come into his own, something the Golden Eagles need. In the two games this past weekend, the Brooklyn, N.Y., native averaged 9.5 points per game, including a season-high 13 points on 5-6 shooting from the field against Michigan Tech. With the Beavers having a guy like John Sutherland, who was just named the NSIC Player of the Week, Thompson will play an important role tomorrow night.
·         STRENGTH OF WASHINGTON. Dezmond Washington has made a big impact this season. The Morrilton, Ark., native is third on the Golden Eagles in scoring with just under 10 points per game and is second in rebounds with 6.0 per game. The transfer from East Los Angeles College scored a career-high 20 points on 9-15 shooting from the field, all of which were career-high, in the loss to Northern Michigan. In the loss to the Wildcats, Washington was just one rebound away from his first career double-double, ending the night with nine rebounds.
·         HE'S THE MAN. Matthew Allman picked a good time for his best career game as a Golden Eagle. Allman scored 16 points in 33 minutes against the Huskies on Friday night in Houghton, Mich. The redshirt junior also pulled down seven rebounds and buried a career best four shots from deep. Getting Allman going consistently will be key for the Golden Eagles as they enter NSIC play.
·         SHOOTING IT WELL. Minnesota Crookston has shot the ball extremely well this season. The Golden Eagles are shooting 44.7 percent from the field, which would be the most in a season for the maroon and gold since 2018-19, when the Golden Eagles advanced to the NSIC Sanford Health Quarterfinals. Shooting hasn't been a problem this season for Minnesota Crookston, who will look to carry that over tomorrow evening in Bemidji.
 
Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles
Head Coach: Bryan Beamish
Record at UMC: 0-4
Season at UMC: Eighth Season (First as Head Coach)
Bemidji State Beavers
Head Coach: Mike Boschee
Record at BSU: 119-148
Season at BSU: 11^th Season
 
Weekly Snapshot

Minnesota Crookston
Projected Starters
Jr. G 4 Xzavier Jones (6-4, Milwaukee, Wis.) 12.3 PPG, 7.3 RPG
So. G 1 Blaize Sagna (6-3, London, England) 13.3 PPG, 3.3 RPG
R-Jr. G/F 11 Matthew Allman (6-6, London, England) 5.5 PPG, 3.3 RPG
Jr. G/F 24 Dezmond Washington (6-6, Morrilton, Ark.) 9.5 PPG, 6.0 RPG
So. F 14 Pedro Rossi (6-8, Bahia Blanca, Argentina) 3.8 PPG, 1.8 rpg
Top Bench Players
Fr. G 5 Chandler Meeks (6-1, Omaha, Neb.) 5.0 PPG
R-So. F 10 Jordan Mitchell (6-8, Columbus, Ohio) 2.0 PPG
R-Sr. F 23 Marcus Thompson (6-6, Brooklyn, N.Y.) 6.3 PPG, 4.3 RPG
So. G 3 Ron Kirk, Jr. (6-4, Milwaukee, Wis.) 5.5 PPG
Sr. G 20 Rambo Badyal (6-3, Kelowna, British Columbia) 3.8 PPG
 
Bemidji State
Projected Starters
Jr. G 0 Dalton Albrecht (6-7, Grafton, N.D.)  16.6 PPG, 4.4 RPG
R-Sr. G 3 Mohamed Kone (6-3, Apple Valley, Minn.) 9.6 PPG, 3.8 RPG
So. G 11 Brandon Christlieb (6-5, Ashley, Ind.) 13.6 PPG, 3.8 RPG
Jr. F 23 John Sutherland (6-7, Grand Rapids, Minn.) 19.2 PPG, 8.4 RPG
Fr. G 4 Brayden Williams (6-2, Owatonna, Minn.) 7.0 PPG, 3.2 RPG
Top Bench Players
So. G 20 Jayce Lowman (6-3, Mandan, N.D.) 8.2 PPG
R-Sr. F 10 RJ Smith (6-6, Lexington, Kent.) 7.5 PPG, 7.3 RPG
So. G 12 Jalen Dearring (6-0, Hopkins, Minn.) 6.2 PPG
So. G 14 Colton Roderick (6-5, Alexandria, Minn.) 3.0 PPG
 
KNOW THE OPPONENT
 
Bemidji State. The Beavers are off to a blazing start in 2022. BSU has scored 80 or more points in every single win that they have this season, including a 115-point output last week against Oak Hills Christian College. In their lone loss to Concordia-St. Paul, the Beavers scored 76 and lost by one. It's early, but Bemidji State has the best offense in the NSIC, averaging over 93 points per game through five games.
·         PLAYER OF THE WEEK. This afternoon, John Sutherland was named the NSIC North Player of the Week. Hard to argue with the honor. In all three games for the Beavers, the junior from Grand Rapids scored 20 or more points, including a season-high 26 points last Friday against Minnesota-Morris. Sutherland shot 74 percent from the field. Stopping Sutherland will be a tough task for Minnesota Crookston on Tuesday.
·         ALBRECHT IS ALRIGHT. Dalton Albrecht is the second leading scorer for the Beavers this season, averaging more than 16 points per game. In every game this season, the junior has scored in double-digits in every game. Last Friday, Albrecht scored 22 points in 36 minutes on 8-13 shooting from the field against the Cougars of Minnesota-Morris. Last season, the former Grafton Spoiler scored a season-high 21 points against the Golden Eagles. Only fitting that he likes playing against a team that their primary colors are maroon and gold.
·         BEAT YOU FROM DEEP. One of the things that makes the Beavers so dangerous offensively is their ability to shoot it from deep. Bemidji State is second in the NSIC in three-point field goal percentage, right behind the University of Mary, who has played just one game. Bemidji State has 58 3-point makes, which leads the NSIC. Brandon Christlieb and Jayce Lowman have been key to the barrage from deep. Christlieb has 13 makes from deep, while Lowman has 11.