Shawnee, Okla. – It was the start of year two under
Bryan Beamish for Golden Eagle men's basketball who opened the season in Oklahoma for the first time in program history, taking on East Central University in the Noble Complex on the campus of Oklahoma Baptist.
Minnesota Crookston used a ginormous first half, leading by 18 at 38-20.
The Tigers would make a late charge in the second half behind the three ball, but the Golden Eagles would hold on for a 62-56 win.
Minnesota Crookston starts the season 1-0.
It was an outstanding start for the Golden Eagles, who would score the first six points of the game on back-to-back layups from
De'Antray Hughes (Sr., F, New Orleans, La.) and
Blaize Sagna (Jr., G, London, England). The 6-0 start would be capped off by a thunderous put back dunk from
Ben Hoverson (Jr., F, Grand Forks, N.D.). That dunk would be a preview of a huge first half for Hoverson.
The Golden Eagles would eventually lead by 12 at 16-4 on a Sagna layup.
The Golden Eagles would see their lead trimmed to 10 at 19-9, but
Reid Grant (Jr., G, Johnston, Iowa) would connect on a pair of three's and
Peter Fuchs, Jr. (R-Fr., G, Wausau, Wis.) would bury a pair of free throws for a 27-9 lead.
The Golden Eagles would use the three ball to extend their lead to 38-11, as Hoverson would connect on two of his four three-point makes and
Isaiah Bundy-Smith (So., F, Rugby, N.D.) would bank in a three for the 27 point lead.
ECU would score the final nine points of the first 20 minutes to trim the Golden Eagle lead to 18 heading into the locker room.
The second half would start much like the first half. The Golden Eagles would continue to be outstanding defensively, holding the Tigers scoreless for the first five minutes.
The Golden Eagles would start the half on another large run, this time an 11-0 run, highlighted by yet another Hoverson three from the left wing.
A Sagna free throw would give the Golden Eagles their largest lead of the game at 52-22 with 11:54 remaining in the game.
The Golden Eagles would go scoreless for four minutes, allowing the Tigers to go on a 12-0 run and cut the lead to just 15.
Grant would answer with five straight points to get the Golden Eagle lead back up to 20.
Minnesota Crookston would lead by 18 at 60-42 with 3:30 left in the game, but the Tigers would not go away quietly. ECU would score nine points in 30 seconds to all of a sudden cut the lead to just four at 60-56.
The Tigers would have a chance to cut the lead to just a possession, but a huge steal by Hughes would ice the game for the Golden Eagles. The maroon and gold would bury free throws late for the six point win.
The Golden Eagles had three scorers in double-figures, led by Hoverson and his 17 points on 6-9 from the field and 5-7 from deep. Grant finished with 16 points on 6-10 shooting from the field. Sagna added 11 points and five rebounds. Hughes was outstanding as well, scoring five points and pulling down nine rebounds. In his first game as a Golden Eagle,
Aguek Deng (R-Jr., F/C, Des Moines, Iowa) finished with a career-high 12 rebounds. Fuchs, Jr., also poured in a career best seven points.
As a team, the Golden Eagles shot 10-18 from deep and outrebounded the Tigers by six, 41-35.
The Golden Eagles were outstanding defensively, holding the Tigers to shoot less than 31 percent from the field.
What's Next
Minnesota Crookston will close out the GAC/NSIC Crossover Challenge tomorrow night with host school Oklahoma Baptist. Tip-off is set for 8 P.M., in Shawnee, Okla.
