Minnesota Crookston Heads to Sioux Falls, Wayne for Two More NSIC South Battles


#TIDBITS

Golden Eagle men's basketball will look for one thing this weekend when they travel to Sioux Falls and Wayne Neb.: finish. This past weekend against two quality opponents in Minnesota State and Concordia-St. Paul, Minnesota Crookston either led at halftime or was tied at halftime, but both times, they would lose the second half and the game. Minnesota Crookston led by eight at the half against Minnesota State and was 20 minutes away from a signature win, but struggled in the second half. This weekend, the Golden Eagles will head to two different states looking for their first conference wins of the season.

·   SAGNA AT THE STRIPE. Minnesota Crookston did a lot of things really well this past weekend. One thing they did extremely well was get to the charity stripe. Minnesota Crookston got to the free throw line 45 times in two games this past weekend, including 27 against Minnesota State last Friday night, a season-high. Sophomore guard Blaize Sagna was a key component to getting to the line so many times. Sagna shot nine free throws against Minnesota State on Friday and followed that up with eight attempts against CSP on Saturday. The London, England native missed just one attempt in each game. Getting to the free throw line has been somewhat of a struggle this season for the Golden Eagles, but this past weekend might have been a step in the right direction.

• OUTSTANDING FIRST HALF. Minnesota Crookston was oh so close to defeating Minnesota State for the second straight time in Crookston, last beating them in 2019 inside Lysaker Gymnasium. The Golden Eagles were outstanding in the first half, outscoring MSU by eight and shooting nearly 45 percent from the field in the first half. Unfortunately for the maroon and gold, they shot just 21 percent from the field in the second half. It was an exciting game that saw 13 lead changes and 10 ties. Although they lost on Friday, the Golden Eagles showed that they can compete with some of the best teams in the NSIC.

·   STAT STUFFER. Xzavier Jones is constantly getting the Golden Eagles toughest assignment defensively. He is arguably one of the better perimeter defenders for the Golden Eagles and he can also get into the paint at will. Jones has found a home in Crookston and has been outstanding the last month of the season. In his last nine games, the junior from Milwaukee has scored in double-digits in eight of those games and has pulled down six or more rebounds in six of those games. Jones has been a revelation for the Golden Eagles and will be an important piece to the puzzle in the future.

·  RAMBO! Senior guard Rambo Badyal has been a constant for first-year head coach Bryan Beamish and his Golden Eagles. The Kelowna, British Columbia native has played in all 18 games this season, one of two Golden Eagles to do so, while starting in two of those games. This past Saturday, Badyal finished with 15 points on 50 percent shooting from the field, while making back-to-back three's right before half to tie things up with the Golden Bears. His 15 points were the second most of his two year Golden Eagle career and he will look to continue that as Badyal wraps-up his Golden Eagle career in the final month or so of the season.

·  GET JIGGY WITH IT. Ron Kirk, Jr., was absolutely fantastic on Friday night against the Mavericks. The sophomore from Milwaukee finished with eight points, his most since scoring 10 against Northern Michigan on Nov. 17, while playing 19 minutes, his most since Dec. 10 against MSUM when he finished with 22 minutes played. Kirk, Jr., got to the charity stripe nine times, a career-high. If he's healthy, 'Jiggy', can make an impact on both ends of the floor for the maroon and gold this season.

·  KICK OFF THE DOUBLEHEADER. Starting this weekend, the Golden Eagle men will see a change in schedule. From this weekend through the end of the season, men's action will take place in the first game of the doubleheader, followed by the women's game shortly after. It was a change that was put into effect last season and the Golden Eagles will now look to kick-off the doubleheaders with some wins starting this weekend at 5:30 P.M., at Augustana.

• THE BOOK OF MATTHEW. Minnesota Crookston got a really good game from junior Matthew Allman last Saturday against Concordia-St. Paul. The London native finished with 12 points, including three makes from deep, to go along with a career-high eight rebounds. The Glenville State College transfer is a marksman from behind the arc and the Golden Eagles will undoubtedly look to him throughout the season to provide an offensive and defensive spark.


Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles
Head Coach: Bryan Beamish
Record at UMC: 1-17 Season at UMC: Eighth Season (First as Head Coach)


Augustana University Vikings
Head Coach: Tom Billeter
Record at AU: 367-199 Season at AU: 20th Season


Wayne State College Wildcats
Head Coach: Jeff Kaminsky
Record at WSC: 92-93 Season at WSC: 7th Season


Minnesota Crookston @ Augustana
Date: Friday, Jan. 20
Time: 5:30 P.M.
Place: Sioux Falls, S.D. / Elmen Center
Watch: https://nsicnetwork.com/goaugie/
Live Stats: https://goaugie.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Listen Live: https://kxrb.com/radio/augustana-university-sports-live/
Series Record: 19-3 in favor of the Vikings
Last Meeting: 78-59 win for Augustana in Crookston last season
Officials: Isaiah Conrad, Pete Larson and Jake Studer


Minnesota Crookston @ Wayne State College
Date: Sat. Jan. 21
Time: 3:30 P.M.
Place: Wayne, Neb. / Rice Auditorium
Watch: https://nsicnetwork.com/wscwildcats/
Live Stats: https://wscwildcats.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summarySeries Record: 5-5
Last Meeting: 75-59 win for the Golden Eagles in Crookston last season
Officials: Jacob Hirz, Lucas Pearson, Taylor Parker



Weekly Snapshot

Minnesota Crookston
Projected Starters
Jr. G 4 Xzavier Jones (6-4, Milwaukee, Wis.) 12.7 PPG, 5.3 RPG
So. G 1 Blaize Sagna (6-3, London, England) 15.7 PPG, 5.1 RPG
Fr. G 5 Chandler Meeks (6-1, Omaha, Neb.) 7.1 PPG, 2.3 RPG
R-Jr. F 2 De'Antray Hughes (6-7 New Orleans, La.) 4.4 PPG, 3.8 RPG
R-So. F 10 Jordan Mitchell (6-8, Columbus, Ohio) 3.0 PPG, 3.5 RPG
Top Bench Players
R-Jr. G/F 11 Matthew Allman (6-6, London, England) 6.5 PPG, 2.8 RPG
So. F 14 Pedro Rossi (6-8, Bahia Blanca, Argentina) 4.1 PPG, 1.9 RPG
Jr. G/F 24 Dezmond Washington (6-6, Morrilton, Ark.) 10.0 PPG, 5.4 RPG
Sr. G 20 Rambo Badyal (6-3, Kelowna, British Columbia) 6.5 PPG, 1.6 RPG
Augustana
Projected Starters
Jr. G 2 Jadan Graves (6-2, Syracuse, New York) 11.9 PPG, 4.1 RPG
So. G 3 Akoi Akoi ( 6-6, Sioux Falls, S.D.) 11.2 PPG, 4.8 RPG
Sr. G 21 Isaac Fink (6-4, Springfield, Minn.) 10.7 PPG, 7.3 RPG
R-Sr. G 24 Ryan Miller (5-11, Walker, Iowa) 13.1 PPG, 3.8 RPG
Fr. F 20 Caden Hinker (6-7, Mitchell, S.D.) 3.4 PPG, 3.0 RPG
Top Bench Players
So. G 12 Zac Johnson (6-3, River Falls, Wis.) 4.9 PPG, .9 RPG
Sr. G 22 Bennett Otto (6-4, Brooklyn Park, Minn.) 4.3 PPG, 2.5 RPG
R-Sr. 33 Eric Tiedman (6-6, Jordan, Minn.) 3.8 PPG, 2.1 RPG
Fr. F 10 Brady Helgren (6-9, Edina, Minn.) 3.7 PPG, 2.8 RPG
Fr. G 23 Sam Rensch (6-5, Hutchinson, Minn.) 3.7 PPG, 1.8 RPG
Wayne State College
Projected Starters
So. G 12 Jay Saunders (5-11, Omaha, Neb.) 6.8 PPG, 3.1 RPG
R-Sr. G 13 Nate Mohr (6-2, Glenwood, Iowa) 14.1 PPG, 1.6 RPG
So. G 23 Justin Eagans (6-3, Downers Grove, Ill.) 12.8 PPG, 4.3 RPG
R-Sr. F 32 Jordan Janssen (6-7, Lincoln, Neb.) 20.6 PPG, 8.9 RPG
So. F 35 Cody McCullough (6-8, Ankeny, Iowa) 7.6 PPG, 7.3 RPG
Top Bench Players
R-Sr. 3 Nick Ferrarini (6-5, Omaha, Neb.) 7.4 PPG, 2.2 RPG
Fr. G 10 David Harmon (6-3, Omaha, Neb.) 3.7 PPG, 1.7 RPG
So. F 25 Noah Erickson (6-6, Omaha, Neb.) 1.6 PPG, 1.7 RPG


KNOW THE OPPONENTS

Augustana. The game with the Golden Eagles could go either way. This season, the Vikings are two games under .500, but they are still Augustana, one of the best schools in the Northern Sun. Augustana has lost five out of their last six games, but they do have a ranked win already this season; a six-point win over then No. 9 Minnesota State on the road. Augustana may not have the firepower like they have in previous seasons, but they still have the ability to go on a run, which they hope starts this weekend in order to make the NSIC Tournament.

LEGEND AT THE HELM. Tom Billeter, the head coach for Augustana for the previous 20 seasons knows how to win. No matter the talent he has, there is a great bet that he will win a bunch of games. When Billeter took over at Augustana in 2003-04, he had three straight losing seasons, but has had a winning record in every single season since that point and has a National Championship in 2016 and two-time National Coach of the Year to add to his resume. Billeter was also at North Dakota State before heading South to Sioux Falls and won a ton at the helm of the Bison in the now defunct North Central Conference. After his tenure with NDSU, Billeter had stops at some big-time programs including St. John's (NY) under the direction of Fran Fraschilla and then headed to College Station, Texas to spend the next five seasons at Texas A & M.

D IT UP! One reason why the Vikings have won eight games this season has been due to their outstanding defense. Although they have the 14th ranked offense in terms of scoring in the NSIC,  they are fifth in the NSIC in points given up at just 68.2 points per game. The last three games however, they have struggled. The Vikings have given up 70 points or more to three straight opponents and are 1-2 in those games. Can the Golden Eagles keep the trend going and make it 1-3 in their last four?

GRAVES OF THREE. Syracuse, N.Y., native Jadan Graves has been outstanding this season. The junior is second on his team in scoring at 11.9 points per game, while leading them in both three-point makes and three-point attempts. The 6-2 guard is currently 12th in the NSIC with 37 makes from deep on the season and makes about two from deep per game. Stopping No. 2 this Friday has to be of top priority for the Golden Eagles this weekend.

Wayne State College. WSC has some potential to be a scary team down the stretch this season. Although the Wildcats have lost three out of their last four games, Wayne State currently sits at 12-6 overall and third in the NSIC South. This is a big weekend for the Wildcats, who have lost the last two games they have played the Golden Eagles, both of which coming in Crookston.

FEAR THE 'STACHE. Based on his picture on the Wayne State College Athletics Website, Jordan Jannsen has some of the best facial hair in the NSIC. Almost like Drew Timme of Gonzaga. To go along with the elite facial hair, Jannsen has an elite game to go with it. At 20.6 points per game, the fifth-year senior from Lincoln, Neb., sits at fourth in the conference in scoring and is second at 8.9 rebounds per game. Jannsen has seven double-doubles on the season, 13 20 or more point games this season and is shooting 55 percent from the field on the season. Somewhat of a rarity in today's day and age, Jannsen has yet to take a three-point field goal this season. Jannsen is a throwback big, but a really good one that is almost impossible to stop.

MOHR PLEASE. Nate Mohr is the exact opposite of Jordan Jannsen. Of his 198 field goal attempts this season, 128 has come from behind the arc, where he is a 37.5 percent shooter on the season. The fifth-year senior has six games with 10 or more attempts from deep on the season, but he hasn't taken 10 three-point attempts in a game since Dec. 9 in a win against Concordia-St. Paul. With Jannsen doing work in the low post and Mohr being one of the most dangerous shooting threats in the conference, the Wildcats fifth-year seniors make for a dangerous tandem.

EAGER EAGINS. Justin Eagins is also having a really nice season for the Wildcats. Unlike Mohr and Jannsen, who have spent five seasons in Wayne, this is Eagins third season and he has been really good the last seven games. The sophomore from Illinois has scored double-figures in seven straight games, including a season-high 26 points, just two behind his career of 28 as a freshman against Sioux Falls. Although he is averaging about four points less than his average from last season, Eagins is a huge piece to the pie for the Wildcats and he will look to continue his strong run this weekend.