Minnesota Crookston Heads to Aberdeen for Thanksgiving Basketball Against Presentation, Texas A & M-Kingsville


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Golden Eagle men's basketball will look to be thankful for some wins this weekend in the Thanksgiving tournament hosted by NSIC foe Northern State. The Golden Eagles went 2-0 last season in the same tournament, including a win over Friday's opponent, Presentation College. Minnesota Crookston is 2-0 all-time against Presentation and will look to reverse their fortunes this weekend. The Golden Eagles have lost their last two games by an average of just 4.5 points to Michigan Tech and Bemidji State.

·   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.

• TIME TO FINISH. The Golden Eagles have lost five straight to open the season, but when you look at the box scores in four of those losses, the record could easily be flipped. Minnesota Crookston has shot the ball well and has rebounded it well, but they have not been able to finish down the stretch and have turned the ball over almost twice as much as their opponents. That was the case again on Tuesday night against Bemidji State. The Golden Eagles turned it over 14 times and shot just two free throws, compared to 18 for Bemidji State. The Golden Eagles will look to finish on Friday night and earn their first win of the Bryan Beamish era against Presentation College.


Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles
Head Coach: Bryan Beamish
Record at UMC: 0-5 Season at UMC: Eighth Season (First as Head Coach)


Presentation College Saints
Head Coach: Trevor Flemmer
Record at PC: 3-4 Season at PC: 1st Season


Texas A & M-Kingsville Javelinas
Head Coach: Johnny Estelle
Record at TAMUK: 119-101 Season at TAMUK: 9th Season


Minnesota Crookston vs Presentation College
Date: Friday, Nov. 25
Time: 5 P.M.
Place: Aberdeen, S.D. / Wachs Arena
Watch: https://nsicnetwork.com/nsuwolves/
Live Stats: https://nsuwolves.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Series Record: The Golden Eagles lead the series 2-0
Last Meeting: 75-44 win for the Golden Eagles last season
Officials: Ben Wolden, Lucas Pearson, Andrew Gross


Minnesota Crookston vs Texas A & M-Kingsville
Date: Sat. Nov. 26
Time: 4 P.M.
Place: Aberdeen, S.D. / Wachs Arena
Watch: https://nsicnetwork.com/nsuwolves/
Live Stats: https://nsuwolves.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Series Record: These two teams have never met
Last Meeting: N/A
Officials: Mark Riggs, Jake Studer and David Drexler


Weekly Snapshot

Minnesota Crookston
Projected Starters
Jr. G 4 Xzavier Jones (6-4, Milwaukee, Wis.) 11.4 PPG, 6.6 RPG
So. G 1 Blaize Sagna (6-3, London, England) 15.0 PPG, 4.2 RPG
R-Jr. G/F 11 Matthew Allman (6-6, London, England) 5.0 PPG, 2.8 RPG
Jr. G/F 24 Dezmond Washington (6-6, Morrilton, Ark.) 10.8 PPG, 5.4 RPG
So. F 14 Pedro Rossi (6-8, Bahia Blanca, Argentina) 3.8 PPG, 2.2 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) 4.3 PPG, 3.0 RPG
R-Jr. F 2 De'Antray Hughes (6-7 New Orleans, La.) 2.4 PPG, 2.4 RPG
So. G 3 Ron Kirk, Jr. (6-4, Milwaukee, Wis.) 4.4 PPG
Sr. G 20 Rambo Badyal (6-3, Kelowna, British Columbia) 4.4 PPG
Presentation
Projected Starters
Sr. G 1 Travez Nyx (6-4, Detroit, Mich.)
Jr. G 2 Isaiah Cabrera (5-11, Newark, Calif.)
Jr. G 4 Kobe Jackson (6-1, Tasmania, Australia)
So. G 5 Isaac Sumption (6-0, Frederick, S.D.)
Jr. F 24 Jackson Becker (6-4, Aberdeen, S.D.)
Top Bench Players
Sr. G 0 DJ Bonds (6-1, Jackson, Tenn.)
Jr. G 3 Jeremiah Gilyard (6-3, Palatka, Fla.)
Jr. G 11 Brandon Doss (5-8, Cincinnati, Ohio)
Jr. F 30 Bryant Jefferson (6-5, Palo Alto, Calif.)
Texas A & M Kingsville
Projected Starters
Jr. G 1 C.J. Smith (5-9, Mansfield, Texas) 15.0 PPG, 1.8 RPG
Sr. G 4 Creighton Avery (6-0, Corpus Christi, Texas) 10.0 PPG, 3.8 RPG
Jr. F 11 Kavon Booker (6-7, San Antonio, Texas) 9.8 PPG, 6.8 RPG
Sr. F 12 Will Chayer (6-8, Corpus Christi, Texas) 2.8 PPG, 6.3 RPG
Jr. G 13 Jake Majors (6-1, Corpus Christi, Texas) .8 PPG, 2.3 RPG
Top Bench Players
Jr. G 3 Isaiah Payne (6-2, Ville Platte, La.) 13.3 PPG, 2.0 RPG
Sr. G 5 Sammy Brooks (6-1, Dallas, Texas) 6.8 PPG, 2.0 RPG
Fr. G 23 Allen Singleton (6-0, League City, Texas) 4.3 PPG, 1.8 RPG


KNOW THE OPPONENTS

Presentation. The Saints are an NAIA school who will play the Golden Eagles for the second straight season. The Saints are 3-4 under the direction of first-year Head Coach Trevor Flemmer. Presentation have lost two in a row by double-figures to NSIC schools, the University of Mary and Minot State, both in exhibition play.

THE NAME IS BONDS. Senior guard DJ Bonds has led the way through the first seven games of the season for the Saints. The Tennessee native is second on the Saints in scoring with just under 15 points per game. He does it in an unconventional way. Bonds shoots just one three a game out of his nine field goal attempts per game. For just a 25 percent 3-point shooter, Bonds is an outstanding scorer.

TRAIL NYX. The leader for the Saints is senior Travez Nyx. The senior from Detroit leads the Saints with 16.9 points per game, as well as 4.9 rebounds per game and 4.0 assists per game. Much like Bonds, he does it the old-fashioned way. Nyx is just a 26 percent 3-point shooter, but is 50 percent from the field. Stopping the dynamic duo of Bonds and Nyx will be a tough task for the maroon and gold this Friday.

Texas A & M Kingsville. The Javelinas are a solid program who made the NCAA Tournament a season ago after finishing with 18 wins. This will be the first time that the Javelinas and Golden Eagles have met in either program's history.

DEFENSE, DEFENSE AND MORE DEFENSE. The Javelinas have a stifling defense. Through four games, they have given up just over 57 points per game, including giving up just 42 to Western Colorado in their last game. The Javelinas also force turnovers with 11.0 steals per game, which ranks 15th in the nation. They don't give up the three ball either, as they rank second in their conference in 3-point defense.

CONSISTENCY. Junior guard C.J. Smith has been super consistent for his squad this season. The Mansfield, Texas native has scored in double-figures in every game this season, including a season-high 17 points against Colorado Mesa and a pair of 15-point outputs. He also has a make from deep in every game this season. The Javelinas shoot just 25 percent from deep as a team, but they can rely on Smith for at least one per game.