Crookston, Minn. – Minnesota Crookston led by one at the half, but Minot State outscored the Golden Eagles by 21 to knock off Minnesota Crookston, 77-57, in NSIC men's basketball play on Friday night.
 
Minot State improves to 7-4 (4-3 NSIC), while the Golden Eagles fall to 1-12 (0-7 NSIC).
 
The Golden Eagles would finish with 15 turnovers in the game, including on their opening two possessions, which the Beavers would score, taking a 4-0 lead.
 
Minnesota Crookston would score the next four, highlighted by a tough finish by Blaize Sagna (So., G, London, England).
 
Both teams would continue to go back and forth. Matthew Allman (R-Jr., G, London, England) would bury a three, Sagna would cash in on a mid-range jumper and Chandler Meeks (Fr., G, Omaha, Neb.) would finish a layup through contact to cut the lead to just one at 14-13.
 
Sagna and Marcus Thompson (R-Sr., F, Brooklyn, N.Y.) would each make layups to put the maroon and gold up three, forcing a Beaver timeout.
 
Thompson would show his stick-to-itiveness and finish a lefty lay-in at the buzzer, putting the Golden Eagles up by one after the first 20 minutes.
 
The Beavers would come out and control the second half, outscoring Minnesota Crookston by 21 and holding the Golden Eagles to just 24 second half points, for the 20-point victory.
 
Both Allman and Sagna finished with 17 points, while Sagna finished with nine rebounds and three assists. Rambo Badyal (Sr., G, Kelowna, British Columbia) had seven points, all in the second half, while Meeks had 6 points in the game.
 
The big story in the game was the offensive rebounding. Minot State finished with 17 offensive rebounds, compared to just nine for Minnesota Crookston.
 
The Golden Eagles will be back in action tomorrow afternoon, as they host the University of Mary. Tip-off with the Marauders is set for 3 P.M., from Lysaker Gymnasium.