MOORHEAD, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Crookston men's basketball team got the lead down to nine points late in the second half, but Minnesota State University Moorhead held off the Golden Eagles for the 77-63 win. MSU Moorhead got the pace early as they opened the game with a 10-0 run.

The Golden Eagles fell to 8-17 (5-14 NSIC) with Sunday's loss. MSU Moorhead improved to 14-11 (9-7 NSIC) with the win. The Dragons pick up the season sweep on the Golden Eagles. MSU Moorhead has the last four wins in the series.

Minnesota Crookston was led by Nathaniel Powell (R-So., F/C, Nottingham, England) with 17 points and five rebounds. Leonard Dixon (R-Jr., F, Damascus, Ore.) came off the bench for 13. Ethan Channel (R-Jr., G, Beaverton, Ore.) added 11 points. Uzo Dibiamaka (R-So., G, Adelaide, South Australia) finished with 10 points.

The Golden Eagles shot 26-of-60 from the field for 43.3 percent. They were just 3-of-15 from beyond the arc for 20.0 percent. Minnesota Crookston was 8-of-12 for 66.7 percent from the foul line. Each team had 37 rebounds on the night. The Dragons had 13 offensive rebounds, compared to 12 for the Golden Eagles. Minnesota Crookston had 14 turnovers, compared to just nine for MSU Moorhead.

The Dragons were led by 22 points and nine boards from Lorenzo McGhee. Gavin Baumgartner added 12 points and six rebounds. Bryce Irsfeld chipped in 14.

MSU Moorhead shot 29-of-64 from the field for 45.3 percent. They were 10-of-24 from beyond the arc for 41.7 percent. The Dragons hit 9-of-13 for 69.2 percent from the foul line.

MSU Moorhead jumped out to a 10-0 advantage on the Golden Eagles following a McGhee jumper with 16:23 left in the first half. Minnesota Crookston got on the scoreboard with a Dixon basket. After a defensive stop, Dixon drained a triple to get UMN Crookston within 10-5. The Dragons pushed out to an 18-9 advantage following a McGhee trey. The Golden Eagles were able to pull within 18-13 following a Dibiamaka free throw with 11:59 remaining. A McGhee three-pointer pushed the Dragons back out to a 24-13 advantage. Minnesota Crookston countered with buckets from Powell and Dixon to trim the lead to 24-17 with 10:08 remaining in the half. MSU Moorhead countered with a 7-0 run as a Trever Kaiser basket gave the Dragons a 31-17 advantage. A Gatdoar Kueth dunk pushed the Dragon lead to 38-18 with 4:30 left in the first half. Neither team would score for over three minutes, until Kueth hit a jumper to push the advantage to 40-18. Dibiamaka would convert an old-fashioned three-point play to trim the deficit to 40-21 with under a minute left in the first stanza. A Dane Zimmer triple widened the gap to 43-21. Dibiamaka would drain a pair from the foul line to cut the lead to 43-23 going into the locker room.

Minnesota Crookston opened the second half with an old-fashioned three-point play from Powell to pull within 43-26. The Golden Eagles pulled within 15 (45-30) on a Powell jumper. Minnesota Crookston trimmed the deficit to 13 (49-36) as Channel drove to the hoop for two. A Powell put-back and conversion of an old-fashioned three-point play brought the Golden Eagles within 50-39 with 15:12 remaining in the game. The Dragons countered with an 8-0 run to push the lead back out to 58-39. The Golden Eagles responded with four-consecutive points as a Zach Westphal (Sr., G, West Fargo, N.D.) jumper fell to trim the lead to 58-43. Minnesota Crookston got the deficit down to 13 (60-47) on a Powell basket with 10:30 left in the game. The Golden Eagles continued to make a charge as a Ron Kirk, Jr. (Fr., Milwaukee, Wis.) drive trimmed the Dragon lead to 12. The Golden Eagles pulled within nine points as Dixon sank a three-pointer with the shot clock expiring. The Dragons fought off the charge as a pair of McGhee free throws widened the gap to 72-55 with 5:53 left in the game. MSU Moorhead picked up the 77-63 victory over Minnesota Crookston.

The Golden Eagles close out the regular-season next weekend. They will face St. Cloud State University on the road February 17 and then conclude the regular-season at home against No. 6 University of Minnesota Duluth.