Golden Eagles Finish Four-Game Home Stand with Huge Weekend Against UMary, Minot State


#TIDBITS

Golden Eagle men's basketball finished up a really nice January with a split this past weekend. The Golden Eagles dominated a very good Wayne State College team on Friday night and then fell to nationally ranked Augustana on Saturday, but not before turning a once 30-point deficit into an eight point game in the second half. This weekend, when the Golden Eagles host NSIC North rivals UMary and Minot State, it is the largest weekend of the season as they look to get back into the hunt for the top six in the NSIC North.

• DOMINANT ON THE BOARDS. What a performance it was on the boards on Friday night for the Golden Eagles. Not only did both Leonard Dixon and Nathaniel Powell both have double-doubles, but they also outrebounded the Wildcats by 20, which was a season-high. The Golden Eagles also had 15 offensive rebounds, which was just three behind the season-high of 18, which came earlier this year in a win over Bemidji State. The rebounding margin of +20 was the highest margin in the rebounding department since a win over Waldorf in Nov. of 2019 inside Lysaker Gymnasium. The Golden Eagles have been much improved on the defensive side and rebounding has been a huge part of that success.

• FIRST FOR NAZ. As mentioned above, Nathaniel Powell was one of five scorers in double-figures, which was also a season-high for the Golden Eagles and he achieved his first career double-double on the season with 12 points, 11 boards and two blocks. Ever since being inserted into the starting lineup against MSU Moorhead, which was 10 games ago, Powell has scored double-digits in half of those games and is averaging 5.9 rebounds in his 10 starts. Powell is going to be really big for the Golden Eagles down the stretch.

• OO'S AND AH'S FROM UZO. Quite honestly, the straw that stirs the drink for the Golden Eagles this season has been redshirt sophomore guard Uzo Dibiamaka. In his first season in the maroon and gold, Dibiamaka is one of two Golden Eagles to start every game and has played over 30 minutes in every game this season. The Australian is third on the team in scoring and rebounding and leads the team in assists per game with just over 3.5 per game. Dibiamaka is second on the team with 25 makes from deep. It's been a really good season for the lefty in 2021-22.

• MAIN MAN MARCUS. What a spark Marcus Thompson has given the Golden Eagles this season. This past weekend, Thompson scored in double-figures in back-to-back games, including 11 points on Friday night and two three-point plays that brought Lysaker Gymnasium into a frenzy. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native followed that up with a 14-point performance against Augustana on 7-12 shooting, which was a career-high in both field goal makes and attempts. Thompson has come on as of late and will see Minot State on Saturday, a team he scored a career-high 15 points against in a December loss.
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• BIG WEEKEND IN THE NORTH.  If there was any weekend that the Golden Eagles would love a sweep, this would be it. Both the Marauders and Beavers have six wins in the NSIC, while the Golden Eagles have four. This season, only the top six teams in both the North and the South make it and it goes off of winning percentage. This weekend is a humongous opportunity for the Golden Eagles to get back into the thick of things with two weekends remaining following this weekend in the NSIC.

• MABRY MAGIC. Another first came in the form of the first career start for Jerome Mabry this past weekend. Mabry started in both games against the Wildcats and Vikings and scored a career-high 10 points on 4-10 shooting from the field in the loss to the Vikings, while also playing a career best 36 minutes. Mabry played well this past weekend after being one of the first five players on the floor for the Golden Eagles.

• DOES HISTORY REPEAT ITSELF? When the Marauders come to town this weekend and play the Golden Eagles on Friday, it will be in a place that they haven't had much success as of late: Gary Senske Court inside Lysaker Gymnasium. Minnesota Crookston has won three out of the last four meetings between these two programs in Crookston, with the largest margin of victory being a 12-point margin during that stretch. The Golden Eagles will hope that the success in Crookston continues against the Marauders in a huge game for both teams.


Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles
Head Coach: Dan Weisse
Record at UMC: 65-132 Season at UMC: 8th Season


University of Mary Marauders
Head Coach: Jack Nelson
Record at UMary: 7-13 Season at UMary: 1st Season


Minot State University Beavers
Head Coach: Matt Murken
Record at MISU: 125-140 Season at MISU: 10th Season


NSIC Rankings

Scoring Offense: 16th
Scoring Defense: 7th
Scoring Margin: 14th
Free Throw Pct.: 16th
Field Goal Pct.: 15th
Field Goal Pct. Defense: 3rd
3-Point Field Goal Pct.: 11th
3-Point Field Goal Pct. Defense: 10th
Rebounding Margin: 13th
Blocked Shots: 4th
Assists: 14th
Steals: 13th
Turnover Margin: 13th
Assist/Turnover Ratio: 16th
Offensive Rebounds: 6th
Defensive Rebounds: 7th


#OPPONENTOUTLOOK

UNIVERSITY OF MARY. UMary is coming into this weekend losing five out of their last seven games, but they did have a really nice win against Minnesota State in Bismarck two weekends ago. The Marauders were swept at the hands of Winona State and No. 19/21 Upper Iowa on the road. Those two teams are arguably two of the hottest teams in the conference. This is a giant weekend for both teams in the NSIC North.

HUNTING TO SCORE. Kai Huntsberry has proven that he is one of the best scorers this season in the NSIC. Not only does he lead his team in scoring at 19.4 points per game, but also minutes per game, three-point makes and attempts, field goal makes and attempts, assists and steals. The junior from New Orleans is coming off of a weekend where he averaged 24.5 points per game on 17-27 shooting from the field, 9-13 from deep and 4.5 assists. The last time these two teams met, Huntsberry played all but two minutes and scored 25 points on 10-17 shooting from the field.

GRATEFUL FOR GERTAUTUS. Gertautus Urbonavicius has come into the University of Mary and has made a huge impact as a starter for first year Head Coach Jack Nelson. The former Fighting Hawk from the University of North Dakota scored 21 points in his second career game against nationally ranked Central Oklahoma. Urbonavicius has been a good player for the Marauders this season.

CALL HIM JJ. Jacob Jackson, the native of Sacramento, Calif., has made for a great duo with Huntsberry. Jackson is second on the team in scoring at 10.2 per game, as well as being second in rebounding at 5.6. Jackson has started just five games, but the last time the Golden Eagles played, Jackson was held to just seven points, but pulled down a season and career-high 13 rebounds. Jackson has three double-doubles on the season, including earlier this month against Augustana.

MINOT STATE. It's a roster full of experience and senior leadership for Matt Murken and his squad. The Beavers have six seniors on the roster, including sixth-year point guard Max Cody. The Beavers and Golden Eagles played a wild game the week before Christmas, which saw Minot State narrowly escape with an 88-83 victory over the Golden Eagles after a 51-point first half for Minnesota Crookston. The Beavers have lost in Crookston just once, which came back in 2005.

FEEL THE BERN. Melvin Newburn is one of the more efficient and effective scorers in the entire NSIC. Newburn leads the Beavers in scoring at just over 15 points per game and is shooting 56 percent from the field, while attempting just 21 three's on the season. The last time he faced the Golden Eagles, the Robbinsdale, Minn., product scored 20 points and was a perfect 10-10 from the charity stripe. Newbern is a tough matchup for any defender in the NSIC.

IN DWYER NEED OF A BUCKET. Simply put, Kody Dwyer doesn't miss very often. The fifth-year senior from Zimmerman, Minn., is shooting an unprecedented 75.5 percent from the field and was 8-9 from the field the last time these two teams met. A big reason for that startling shooting percentage has been the shot selection for the lefty. Dwyer has taken just 26 shots all season from outside the paint. Dwyer is shooting 84-101 within four feet of the rim, good for 70 percent. Dwyer will be a tough matchup this Saturday for the Golden Eagles.

QUALITY DISHES SERVED AT THE MAX. For Newbern and Dwyer, it helps when you have a guy like Max Cody calling the shots for your offense. Cody is the best assist man in the NSIC at almost seven per game and has three double-digit assist games this season, including a 14 assist game earlier this season against Valley City State. Cody is fifth in the nation with his 7.0 assists per game. When these two teams met in December, the Melbourne, Australia native finished with 10 points and 10 assists, including some big buckets down the stretch to give the Beavers the five point victory.