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


#TIDBITS

Golden Eagle men's basketball will head on the road for the eighth straight game this Thursday at Minnesota Duluth and FINALLY play at home on Saturday against St. Cloud State. Minnesota Crookston has spent the entire month of November on the road. The Golden Eagles will look to get on track in the NSIC against two good opponents in the Bulldogs and the Huskies.

·   PRETTY CLOSE TO PERFECT. In Friday night's win against Presentation College, it might not have been a win without a career performance from Matthew Allman. The junior from London, England had his breakout game as a Golden Eagle. Allman was perfect from deep, including burying three's on back-to-back-to-back possessions early on in the first half. Allman finished with 14 points on 5-7 shooting from the field and a career-high four makes from deep. Allman can be light's out from deep and the Golden Eagles will look for more of that in the NSIC.

• THE THOMPSON TRIALS. Marcus Thompson is just one of a handful of returners from last year's squad that is back this season. The redshirt senior from Brooklyn, N.Y., has been really consistent as of late. Thompson leads the Golden Eagles, shooting over 53 percent from the field, as well as five or more rebounds in three different games. Thompson brings size and effort to the low post and the Golden Eagles need his solid play.

·     MEEKS MILL. Minnesota Crookston will undoubtedly be ecstatic to get Chandler Meeks back in the fold. Meeks is a promising young freshman from Omaha, Neb., and Meeks has played in just three games this season due to various injuries, but is expected back this weekend. He will bring a boost. In his collegiate debut, Meeks finished with 11 points on 5-7 shooting from the field against Missouri Western, as well as pulling down two rebounds and dishing out two assists. The Golden Eagles will hope that Meeks can continue his solid start to the season.

·    THE PLAY OF TRAY. When De'Antray Hughes has gotten minutes, he has made the most of that time on the floor. Hughes, the junior from New Orleans, finished with eight points on 3-3 shooting from the field, while also pulling down five rebounds. It was his best game since he scored seven points and pulled down seven rebounds, a career-high, in the loss to Northwest Missouri State.

·    FINISH THE POSSESSION. Minnesota Crookston shoots the ball well. Through seven games, the Golden Eagles are shooting 45 percent from the field, with a majority of those shots coming from inside the arc. As a team, Minnesota Crookston has shot the ball 424 times from the field, with less than half of those shots coming from three-point land. The Golden Eagles pride themselves on moving the ball and getting great looks offensively and so far, that has been the case through seven games.

·   BLAIZE A TRAIL. Sophomore guard Blaize Sagna was tabbed as the Preseason Player to Watch for the Golden Eagles for a reason. Sagna has not disappointed in his first seven games as a Golden Eagle. The London native has started in all seven games so far and leads his team with over 31 minutes played per game. Sagna is the team leader in points per game with 14.1 points per game and is tied for the team lead with Xzavier Jones with 5.1 rebounds per game. Sagna has a 22 and 21-point performance to his name this season and has scored in double-figures in five out of his teams seven games.

• TAKE CARE OF THE BALL. One of the Achilles heels for the Golden Eagles this season has been their inability to take care of the basketball. The Golden Eagles rank near the bottom in turnovers per game, with just over 14 per game. They have had just one game this season with less than 10 turnovers and they have had three games with 19 turnovers, including their last time out against Texas A & M-Kingsville. The Golden Eagles will look to take care of the 'rock' this weekend.


Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles
Head Coach: Bryan Beamish
Record at UMC: 1-6 Season at UMC: Eighth Season (First as Head Coach)


Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs
Head Coach: Justin Wieck
Record at UMD: 75-34 Season at UMD: 5th Season


St. Cloud State Huskies
Head Coach: Quincy Henderson
Record at SCSU: 3-3 Season at SCSU: 1st Season


Minnesota Crookston @ Minnesota Duluth
Date: Thursday, Dec. 1
Time: 7:30 P.M.
Place: Duluth, Minn. / Romano Gymnasium
Watch: https://nsicnetwork.com/umdbulldogs/
Live Stats: https://nsicnetwork.com/umdbulldogs/
Series Record: The Bulldogs lead 37-3
Last Meeting: 91-53 victory for UMD in Crookston
Officials: Brad Yorkovich, Luke Schumer and Joshua Schoaf


St. Cloud State @ Minnesota Crookston
Date: Sat. Dec. 3
Time: 3 P.M.
Place: Crookston, Minn. / Gary Senske Court
Watch: https://nsicnetwork.com/goldeneaglesports/
Live Stats: https://goldeneaglesports.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Series Record: 30-3 in favor of SCSU
Last Meeting: 76-71 victory for SCSU in St. Cloud
Officials: Chad Bjornson, Ben Wolden and Jeff Moska



Weekly Snapshot

Minnesota Crookston
Projected Starters
Jr. G 4 Xzavier Jones (6-4, Milwaukee, Wis.) 11.4 PPG, 5.1 RPG
So. G 1 Blaize Sagna (6-3, London, England) 14.1 PPG, 5.1 RPG
R-Jr. G/F 11 Matthew Allman (6-6, London, England) 6.7 PPG, 2.6 RPG
Jr. G/F 24 Dezmond Washington (6-6, Morrilton, Ark.) 10.3 PPG, 4.7 RPG
So. F 14 Pedro Rossi (6-8, Bahia Blanca, Argentina) 3.0 PPG, 2.1 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) 4.6 PPG, 3.8 RPG
R-Jr. F 2 De'Antray Hughes (6-7 New Orleans, La.) 2.9 PPG, 2.7 RPG
So. G 3 Ron Kirk, Jr. (6-4, Milwaukee, Wis.) 3.9 PPG
Sr. G 20 Rambo Badyal (6-3, Kelowna, British Columbia) 6.0 PPG
Minnesota Duluth
Projected Starters
Jr. G 1 Joshua Brown (6-4, Minneapolis, Minn.) 9.0 PPG, 5.2 RPG
Sr. G 3 Jack Middleton (6-5, Edina, Minn.) 12.1 PPG, 2.7 RPG
R-Sr. G 22 Drew Blair (6-5, Stevens Point, Wis.) 21.1 PPG, 6.1 RPG
Jr. F 24 Charlie Katona (6-6, Shakopee, Minn.) 14.7 PPG, 4.4 RPG
Jr. F 32 Austin Andrews (6-6, Eden Prairie, Minn.) 13.1 PPG, 8.7 RPG
Top Bench Players
So. G 00 Joshua Strong (6-0, Brooklyn Park, Minn.) 7.7 PPG, 1.9 RPG
Jr. F 40 Lincoln Meister (6-9, Rochester, Minn.) 4.4 PPG, 2.1 RPG
R-Fr. 12 Mattie Thompson (6-7, Duluth, Minn.) 2.6 PPG
St. Cloud State
Projected Starters
Jr. G 1 Tommy Chatman (6-4, Brooklyn Park, Minn.) 13.3 PPG, 5.3 RPG
Jr. G 4 Joe Mutimer (6-0, Melbourne, Australia) 10.8 PPG, 3.3 RPG
R-Sr. G 10 Ryan Bagley (6-3, Pocatello, Idaho) 6.3 PPG, 5.5 RPG
Jr. F 22 Matthew Willert (6-6, Buffalo, Minn.) 12.3 PPG, 3.3 RPG
Sr. F 32 Luke Taylor (6-6, Germantown, Wis.) 10.0 PPG, 3.7 RPG
Top Bench Players
Fr. G 0 Andre Renta (6-1, Hudson, Wis.) 2.0 PPG
Jr. F 21 Kevin Cook (6-7, Milwaukee, Wis.) 8.0 PPG, 3.2 RPG
R-Fr. G 24 Tony Dahl (6-4, Buffalo, Minn.) 9.0 PPG, 3.2 RPG


KNOW THE OPPONENTS

Minnesota Duluth. The Bulldogs have turned the corner under the direction of fifth-year head coach Justin Wieck. In his five seasons, Wieck has already won 75 games and is well on his way to another 20-win season, which would be his third in five seasons. The Bulldogs have star power up-and-down the lineup and will be a tough test for the maroon and gold on Thursday night.

HE DREW A MASTERPIECE. Drew Blair is one of the best players in all of Division II. It seems like he has been in a Bulldog uniform for a lot longer than he actually has been. Blair is a redshirt senior transfer from Northwest Missouri State and he leads the Bulldogs with 21.1 points per game in over 36 minutes played per game. The Stevens Point, Wis., native has scored double-figures in every game this season and scored 38 in an overtime win against St. Cloud State last Tuesday.

DOUBLE A. It's pretty wild when your best player (arguably) isn't leading the team in scoring. Junior forward Austin Andrews, who hails from Eden Prairie, Minn., was the NSIC North Player of the Year last season and was also picked to repeat that accolade in the preseason. This year, Andrews is third on the Bulldogs in scoring with 13.1 points per game, but leads his team in rebounding with 8.7 per game. Andrews will probably never shoot the ball outside of 15 feet, but his feet and moves in the post make him really good.

JACK IN THE MIDDLE. One person who will shoot the three is Jack Middleton. The senior guard is shooting 44 percent from deep this season and is second on his team with 16 3-point makes, one behind Blair's 17. After making eight three-point field goals in the Bulldogs first two games, Middleton has struggled a tad from deep, but is still dynamic shooting the ball.

St. Cloud State. Quincy Henderson is in his first season at the helm of the Huskies and has led his team to a pair of really nice wins over Northern Michigan and Michigan Tech, as he has his Huskies winners of two straight. SCSU will host Bemidji State, before making their way to Crookston for some matinee basketball on Saturday.

BACK IN THE SADDLE. Golden Eagle fans might remember the name Tommy Chatman. If not, let's give you a refresher. The Brooklyn Park, Minn., native spent his first collegiate season at NSIC foe Northern State, before heading to a JUCO last season. Chatman is back at St. Cloud State and is making an instant impact. The junior guard is averaging 13.3 points per game and has scored double-figures in his last five games. Chatman will be a tough guard on Saturday.

WHEN THERE'S A WILL(ERT), THERE'S A WAY. With all the turnover the Huskies saw this offseason, one constant stayed the same: Matthew Willert would be back for his junior year. The Buffalo, Minn., native is back and is second on his team in scoring and is shooting 37.5 percent from deep. In two games against the Golden Eagles, Willert is averaging 18 points per game, but shot 6-18 from deep in those two games. Willert has yet to miss a free throw this season as well on 11 attempts.

MOVE THE BALL. SCSU currently has four scorers that are averaging double-digits this season. Chatman and Willert lead the way, while starters Joe Mutimer and Luke Taylor also average more than 10 points per game on the season. The Huskies have a dangerous offense because they have so many guys that can hurt you with the ball in their hand.