Shawnee, Okla. – It didn't take Reid Grant (Jr., G, Johnston, Iowa) long to make an impact as a Golden Eagle. He was the second leading scorer in the game one win over East Central and was the hero in game two against Oklahoma Baptist, hitting a three-pointer with three seconds left to give the Golden Eagles a thrilling 69-67 win over the host Bison.
 
Minnesota Crookston improves to 2-0, while the Bison are 0-2. Minnesota Crookston is the only undefeated team at the NSIC/GAC Crossover.
 
Much like they did yesterday, the Golden Eagles would go on a quick run, this time a 5-0 run on buckets from Aguek Deng (R-Jr., F/C, Des Moines, Iowa) and a three from Ben Hoverson (Jr., F, Grand Forks, N.D.).
 
The Bison would go on a 6-0 run for a 10-8 lead, but Grant would knot things up with a jumper in the paint.
 
Much of the first half would be back-and-forth, but the Bison would take a four point lead at 19-15, but the Golden Eagles would score the next four with a free throw from Jordan Mitchell (Jr., F, Columbus, Ohio) and a three from Peter Fuchs, Jr. (R-Fr., G, Wausau, Wis.).
 
The Golden Eagles would go on an 8-0 run, catapulted by Blaize Sagna (Jr., G, London, England), who finished a pair of layups.
 
Deng would bury a jumper at the 4:38 mark of the half for a four point lead, but the Bison would hold the maroon and gold scoreless the rest of the half and OBU would lead by a bucket heading into the half.
 
The second half would see neither team gain a ton of separation, either. OBU would lead 44-41, but a Grant three would tie the game up at 44.
 
From that point, the game would be tied four more times, until OBU would take a 59-53 lead, forcing a Bryan Beamish timeout.
 
Minnesota Crookston would face their largest deficit of eight with less than four minutes to play.
 
The scrappy Golden Eagles would claw their way back in the game. The 9-0 run was started by a Sagna layup. Hoverson would connect on a three to cut the lead to 63-60. After that, the Golden Eagles would rely on Sagna, who eventually gave them the lead with 63 seconds remaining.
 
The final minute would be a free throw shooting contest between the two teams. Terry Coner, Jr., would bury a pair of free throws for a 67-66 lead.
 
Minnesota Crookston would call a timeout and get the ball last. The Golden Eagles were able to find Grant from deep, who would connect with three seconds left to give the Golden Eagles the two point victory.
 
Individually, Sagna led the way with 19 points and three assists. Hoverson added 12 points on 3-6 from deep, while Grant scored 11 points and four dimes. De'Antray Hughes (Sr., F, New Orleans, La.) was outstanding, finishing with 10 points and six boards. Deng finished with eight points and 10 rebounds, his second straight game with double-digit boards. Fuchs, Jr., added seven points off the bench.
 
The Golden Eagles shot 49.1 percent from the floor and 47.1 percent from deep and held the Bison to 37.3 percent from the field and 23.8 percent from deep.
 
What's Next
Minnesota Crookston will have their home opener on Wednesday night at 5 P.M., as they host Concordia-St. Paul in non-conference action.