Crookston, Minn. – On Friday night in Crookston, it wasn't the Cartwright from Sioux Falls everyone expected to beat Minnesota Crookston. Rather, it was Matt's brother, Jack, who finished with a team-high 20 points on 5-6 shooting from deep, engineering a 24 point win for his Cougars in Crookston.
 
The win for the Cougars improves their record to 15-6 (10-5 NSIC), while the Golden Eagles fall to 1-20 (0-15 NSIC).
 
USF would jump out to a 4-1 lead, but Xzavier Jones (Jr., G, Milwaukee, Wis.) would cash-in on a straightaway three to knot things up early on in the game.
 
The Cougars would answer with a 7-0 run, but Blaize Sagna (So., G, London, England) would finish a tough layup to cut the deficit to six.
 
USF would eventually take a 31-15 lead, but Pedro Rossi (So., F/C, Bahia Blanca, Argentina) would bury two straight threes to cut the deficit to 14 at 35-21. Rossi would finish with a career-high 19 points.
 
The Cougars would lead by 17 after the first 20 minutes.
 
Coming out of the halftime break, Rossi would make his fourth three of the game to get the lead back to 14 at 48-34.
 
From that point on, it would be all Cougars, who would continue to pull away for the 24-point win.
 
Minnesota Crookston would have three scorers in double-figures, led by Rossi with 19, followed by Jones and Rambo Badyal (Sr., G, Kelowna, British Columbia), who each had 17. The Golden Eagles buried a season-high 12 shots from deep.
 
The Golden Eagles will return home tomorrow as they host Southwest Minnesota State at 3:30 P.M., from Crookston.