Crookston, Minn. – Sometimes Mother Nature can force a change of plans. That is the case this weekend as Minnesota Crookston men's basketball will now host travel partner and Highway-2 rival, Bemidji State on Saturday at 2 P.M.
 
It will be the second meeting in less than a month between the Golden Eagles and the Beavers. The Beavers were five-point victors over the Golden Eagles, in Bemidji. The Beavers have lost four straight games since that point, all by double-figures.
 
How to Follow
Bemidji State @ Minnesota Crookston
Saturday, Dec. 17
2 P.M.
Gary Senske Court at Lysaker Gymnasium
Live Stats - https://goldeneaglesports.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Watch Live - https://nsicnetwork.com/goldeneaglesports/
Play-by-Play – Hunter Plante
 
#TIDBITS
 
Golden Eagle men's basketball will have their first homestand of the season to close out 2022. The Golden Eagles have had just one home game through 11 games this season, but will play Minot State, UMary and Bemidji State to close out 2022. This weekend, Minnesota Crookston will play host to Bemidji State, looking for their first conference win of the season. 


·   CONSISTENT PRESENCE. The Golden Eagles have a bright future and a big part of that bright future is sophomore Blaize Sagna. Sagna was chosen as the player to watch for the Golden Eagles in the preseason and he has proven that to be true. The London, England native leads his squad in scoring at just under 15 a game and has scored in double-figures in nine of the Golden Eagles 11 games, including four in a row. Sagna has also pulled down six rebounds or more in six out of his last seven games. Sagna will look to continue that success this weekend.
 
• DEZ IS BACK. After missing a weekend, Dezmond Washington made his return this past weekend and the Golden Eagles were happy to have him back. Washington finished with a career-high 10 rebounds in the loss to Northern State and then followed that up with a 15 point outburst on 6-13 shooting from the field against MSU Moorhead. Washington brings strength and athleticism to the Golden Eagles and he will make his home debut this weekend.
 
·     THE MEEKS WILL RISE. Chandler Meeks is another part of the core of the Golden Eagles that has a bright future. This season, Meeks has struggled with various injuries this season, but he has started the last four games for the Golden Eagles and scored a career-high 15 points against Northern State last Friday, while also making two three-pointers, tying a career-high. The freshman from Omaha will look for that same success this weekend.
 
·    NIGHT OF FIRSTS. In his first career start, Rambo Badyal made sure it didn't go to waste against MSU Moorhead. The senior from Kelowna, British Columbia played a career best 36 minutes and scored a team-high 17 points, also a career-high for Badyal. It was the fourth time this season that Badyal has scored in double-figures and the third straight game with two three-point makes and sixth of the season. Badyal has provided a consistent scoring punch this season for Bryan Beamish and the Golden Eagles.
 
·    REBOUNDING IS A TEAM STAT. Minnesota Crookston has improved on their rebounding numbers from years past. The improvement started a season ago, when they averaged 36 rebounds per game and were outrebounded by just .2 per game. Although the Golden Eagles are getting outrebounded by almost three per game, they have won the rebounding battle in five games this season and have three players with more than five rebounds per game, which also happen to be their leading scorers: Blaize Sagna, Xzavier Jones and Dezmond Washington. The maroon and gold will look to win the rebounding battle again this weekend.
 
·   HEAVY ON HUGHES. De'Antray Hughes was about as consistent as possible last weekend in the two games against Northern State and MSU Moorhead. The junior from New Orleans averaged 8.0 points per game, scoring eight points in both games and 4.5 rebounds per game last weekend, as well. Oh yeah, he also made four field goals in each of the two games as well. Hughes played a career-high 31 minutes in the loss to the Dragons.
 
• GET TO THE RIM WITH EASE. If Xzavier Jones has shown anything this season (he has shown a ton), it has been his ability to get to the rim. Jones has 54 makes from the field on the season, which leads the team, while 47 have come from inside the 3-point arc. Jones has just two games with five or more attempts from deep and out of his 25 field goal attempts this weekend, just four came from behind the 3-point line. It was a formula that worked for Jones, who averaged 16 points per game, including a career-high 18 against MSU Moorhead.
 
Bemidji State. The Beavers got off to a blazing start on the season, starting 5-1, including a win over the Golden Eagles right before Thanksgiving. Since that win over the Golden Eagles, it has been a struggle for BSU, who have lost four games in a row, all by double-figures. A losing streak will end on Saturday.


Spread the Wealth. Bemidji State has struggled as of late, but they still have a solid offense. Bemidji State has four scorers in double-figures, led by John Sutherland with almost 18 points per game. Dalton Albrecht, Brandon Christlieb and Mohamed Kone also are each in double-figures on the season. Albrecht was a key clog in the victory over the Golden Eagles, finishing with 19 points.
 
Bank was Open. The last time these two teams met, Minnesota Crookston did an outstanding job of limiting the three-point shot. Bemidji State shot just 6-22 from deep in the game, which is tied for the second lowest for the Beavers as a team on the season. Mohamed Kone hit one at just the right time, however, banking in a deep three from the right wing that gave the Beavers the lead for good. It was a huge shot for the Beavers and Kone will look to hit some more big shots for his squad this weekend.
 
The Lay of the Land. John Sutherland has been an All-Conference type player this season for Bemidji State. The junior from Grand Rapids, Minn., has scored double-figures in every game this season and doesn't have a scoring output of less than 11 this season. The forward also has two double-doubles on the season and finished with 15 points and nine rebounds the last time these two teams met back in November.
 
Weekly Snapshot
  Sr. G 20 Rambo Badyal (6-3, Kelowna, British Columbia)                  7.3 PPG
 
Bemidji State
Projected Starters
Jr. G 0 Dalton Albrecht (6-7, Grafton, N.D.)                                           15.8 PPG, 4.7 RPG
R-Sr. G 3 Mohamed Kone (6-3, Apple Valley, Minn.)                          10.3 PPG, 4.0 RPG
So. G 11 Brandon Christlieb (6-5, Ashley, Ind.)                                     11.7 PPG, 3.1 RPG
Jr. F 23 John Sutherland (6-7, Grand Rapids, Minn.)                           17.9 PPG, 8.9 RPG
Fr. G 4 Brayden Williams (6-2, Owatonna, Minn.)                               5.9 PPG, 2.8 RPG
Top Bench Players
So. G 20 Jayce Lowman (6-3, Mandan, N.D.)                                         7.4 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.)                                       3.1 PPG
So. G 14 Colton Roderick (6-5, Alexandria, Minn.)                               2.6 PPG