Minnesota Crookston Men Wrap-Up 2022 with First Home Weekend of Season


#TIDBITS

Golden Eagle men's basketball will have their first homestand of the season to close out 2022. The Golden Eagles have had just two home games through 11 games this season, but will play Minot State and UMary to close out 2022. This weekend, Minnesota Crookston will play host to Minot State and UMary, looking for their first conference win of the season. The Golden Eagles split with the Marauders and Beavers last season at home, defeating the Marauders and falling to the Beavers.

·   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 against a pair of North Dakota schools.

• 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 look to get his team back in the win column this weekend against Minot State and UMary.

· 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 against Minot State and UMary.

· 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.

• CAREER NIGHT. Sophomore guard Blaize Sagna did all he could to win his Golden Eagles the game against Bemidji State. Sagna finished with a career-high 26 points against the Beavers, topping his previous career-high of 22, also coming against Bemidji State on the road. Sagna also shot 10-19 from the field, both of which were career bests. His 38 minutes played were also the most in his young Golden Eagle career. The London, England native now has five-straight games with double-digit scoring and is averaging just under 16 points per game on the season.


Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles
Head Coach: Bryan Beamish
Record at UMC: 1-11 Season at UMC: Eighth Season (First as Head Coach)


Minot State Beavers
Head Coach: Matt Murken
Record at MISU: 129-149 Season at MISU: 11th Season


University of Mary Marauders
Head Coach: Jack Nelson
Record at UMARY: 17-20 Season at UMARY: 2nd Season


Minot State @ Minnesota Crookston
Date: Friday, Dec. 30
Time: 5 P.M.
Place: Crookston, Minn. / Lysaker Gymnasium
Watch: https://nsicnetwork.com/goldeneaglesports/
Live Stats: https://goldeneaglesports.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Series Record: The Beavers lead the all-time series, 17-3
Last Meeting: 86-66 victory for Minot State in Crookston
Officials: Mark Riggs, Aaron Lenes, Brayden Schildberger


UMary @ Minnesota Crookston
Date: Sat. Dec. 31
Time: 3 P.M.
Place: Crookston, Minn. / Lysaker Gymnasium
Watch: https://nsicnetwork.com/goldeneaglesports/
Live Stats: https://goldeneaglesports.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Series Record: 21-10 in favor of UMary
Last Meeting: 71-67 victory for Minnesota Crookston in Crookston
Officials: Brad Sylliaasen, Jeff Mosca, Perry Olson


Weekly Snapshot

Minnesota Crookston
Projected Starters
Jr. G 4 Xzavier Jones (6-4, Milwaukee, Wis.) 12.0 PPG, 5.2 RPG
So. G 1 Blaize Sagna (6-3, London, England) 14.3 PPG, 5.3 RPG
R-Jr. G/F 11 Matthew Allman (6-6, London, England) 6.2 PPG, 2.9 RPG
Jr. G/F 24 Dezmond Washington (6-6, Morrilton, Ark.) 9.9 PPG, 5.4 RPG
So. F 14 Pedro Rossi (6-8, Bahia Blanca, Argentina) 4.1 PPG, 2.4 RPG
Top Bench Players
Fr. G 5 Chandler Meeks (6-1, Omaha, Neb.) 6.0 PPG, 2.4 RPG
R-So. F 10 Jordan Mitchell (6-8, Columbus, Ohio) 3.8 PPG, 3.3 RPG
R-Jr. F 2 De'Antray Hughes (6-7 New Orleans, La.) 4.0 PPG, 3.3 RPG
So. G 3 Ron Kirk, Jr. (6-4, Milwaukee, Wis.) 3.8 PPG, 1.6 RPG
Sr. G 20 Rambo Badyal (6-3, Kelowna, British Columbia) 7.3 PPG
Minot State
Projected Starters
R-Sr. G 1 Cam'ron Dunfee (6-3, Castle Rock, Colo.) 15.2 PP, 2.9 RPG
Jr. G 2 Khari Broadway (6-1, Brooklyn Center, Minn.) 11.0 PPG, 3.8 RPG
So. F 23 Connor Hollenbeck (6-7, Rapid City, S.D.) 7.4 PPG, 5.9 RPG
So. G 24 Jaxon Gunville (6-0, Minot, N.D.) 10.4 PPG, 2.8 RPG
Jr. G 11 Michael Jok (6-5, Melbourne, Australia) 6.9 PPG, 2.6 RPG
Top Bench Players
So. G 21 Jalen Cook (6-4, Brooklyn Park, Minn.) 8.9 PPG, 3.2 RPG
Fr. F 50 Caleb Van De Griend (6-8, Bridgetown, Australia) 6.8 PPG, 4.6 RPG
So. G 11 Javeon Tolliver (6-0, Milwaukee, Wis.) 6.2 PPG, 2.2 RPG
R-Fr. F 12 Dylan Gichaba (6-5, Brooklyn Park, Minn.) 5.0 PPG, 1.9 RPG
University of Mary
Projected Starters
Jr. G 1 Zyon Smith (6-4, Montgomery, Ala.) 11.6 PPG, 2.8 RPG
So. G 23 Treyton Mattern (6-2, Bismarck, N.D.) 10.7 PPG, 3.0 RPG
Sr. G 24 Kam Warrens (6-5, Antelope, Calif.) 11.8 PPG, 5.1 RPG
Jr. F 32 Gertautus Urbanavicius (6-7, Vilnius, Lithuania) 9.7 PPG, 5.9 RPG
Sr. F 33 Lucas Mayer (6-7, Bismarck, N.D.) 7.4 PPG, 3.6 RPG
Top Bench Players
Fr. G 4 Jeremiah Jones (6-3, South Holand, Ill.) 7.8 PPG, 6.1 RPG
So. G 0 Deven Franks (5-11, Queen Creek, Ariz.) 3.8 PPG, 1.5 RPG
Jr. F 22 Veljko Radakovic (6-9, Novi Sad, Serbia) 3.1 PPG, 2.4 RPG
Fr. G 13 Gunner Swanson (6-5, Bismarck, N.D.) 3.2 PPG, 1.2 RPG


KNOW THE OPPONENTS

Minot State. The Beavers are 6-4 on the season and are entering Crookston coming off a really nice win in the Minot Dome against their rivals, the University of Mary, two Saturdays ago. Minot State loves playing in Crookston. The Beavers have not lost in Crookston since 1998.

TRIP DOWN BROADWAY. Junior guard Khari Broadway has been an unbelievable find for head coach Matt Murken and the Beavers this season. The transfer from the North Dakota School of Science is the second leading scorer on his squad at 11 points per game, while pulling down 3.8 rebounds per game. The Brooklyn Park, Minn., native averaged 12.5 points per game last weekend and scores without shooting it from deep, as he has only attempted just two shots from deep in his last four games.

COOKING OFF THE BENCH. Every quality team needs that player off the bench that they can rely on to bring energy and scoring. Through nine games, it seems like the Beavers have that in sophomore guard Jalen Cook. The Brooklyn Park native has made a big jump from his freshman to sophomore season, where he is averaging 8.9 points per game, compared to just 1.1 points per game last season. Cook finished with a career best 22 points on 8-9 shooting from the field last Saturday against St. Cloud State.

GUNVILLE FROM DEEP. Jaxon Gunville is what people in the basketball world would call a sniper from deep. The sophomore guard playing for his hometown school is shooting 40 percent from deep and out of his 76 shots from the field this season, 57 of those have been from behind the arc. Gunville has a 3-point make in every game this season and has more than one make from deep in all but one of his games. Forcing Gunville into shots from inside the arc might be a key this weekend for the Golden Eagles.

UMary. The Marauders are off to a great start this season, going 6-4 through their first nine games, including a split last weekend against St. Cloud State and then falling to Minnesota Duluth. UMary has won the two out of the last three games against the Golden Eagles, after losing the previous four. The Marauders will look to rebound following a loss to their rivals, Minot State.

DEFEND THE LONG BALL. In terms of defending the 3-point shot, the Marauders are one of the best in the NSIC. UMary holds their opponents to shoot just 33 percent from deep, good for sixth in the NSIC. To help matters, they also shoot 38 percent from deep, top five in the NSIC. The Marauders have held opponents to shoot less than 30 percent from deep four times this season, including  in back-to-back games last weekend against the Huskies and Bulldogs.

DIVISION I TRANSFER. Gertautus Urbonavicius is a UND transfer. The Marauder women also have a UND transfer in Megan Zander. Both of which make a big impact for their current squad, the University of Mary. Urbonavicius is fourth on his squad in scoring at 9.7 points per game and finished with a season-high 23 points against St. Cloud State last Friday. In one game last season against the Golden Eagles, the Lithuanian scored 16 points in the loss to the Golden Eagles.

WARRENS LEADS TO WINS. The Marauders had to replace star point guard Kai Huntsberry, who transferred to Division I school, North Texas, after last season. It's tough to replace a player like Huntsberry, but the Marauders have done it by committee this season, with a big part of that being Kam Warrens. The senior from Antelope, Calif., leads his team in scoring with 11.9 points per game and has scored in double-figures in five of his team's nine games. Warrens finished with a career-high 20 points against St. Cloud State last Friday night. Warrens hasn't had the best success against the Golden Eagles, scoring just 19 points total in four games. The Golden Eagles will look to continue to put the clamps down on Warrens this weekend.