KENOSHA, Wis. - The University of Minnesota Crookston men's basketball team was defeated 82-72 by Davenport University Friday, November 17 at De Simone Arena in Kenosha, Wis. The Golden Eagles outscored the Panthers 40-38 in the second half, but it wasn't enough to overcome a 12-point half-time deficit.
Minnesota Crookston dropped to 2-2 with Friday's loss. Davenport improved to 1-2 with the victory. Friday's meeting in Wisconsin was the first for the two teams.
Minnesota Crookston had all five starters scored in double digits, but the bench was held to five points Friday. Reid Grant (Jr., G, Johnston, Iowa) led Minnesota Crookston with 19 points. Blaize Sagna (Jr.., G, London, England) notched 15 points for U of M Crookston. Aguek Deng (R-Jr., F, Des Moines, Iowa) picked up a double-double with 12 points and 10 boards. De'Antray Hughes (R-Sr., F/C, New Orleans, La.) was just shy of a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds. Ben Hoverson (Jr., F, Grand Forks, N.D.) tallied 10 points.
The Golden Eagles shot 22-of-54 for 40.7 percent. They struggled from distance, shooting 5-of-22 for 22.7 percent. Minnesota Crookston went 23-of-30 for 76.7 percent from the stripe. The Golden Eagles had nine assists to 14 turnovers. They outrebounded the Panthers 33-32.
Davenport had four players tally double-figure scoring. Marcedus Leech, Jr., who started his career at Iowa State University before transferring to Iowa Western C.C., and eventually Davenport led the Panthers with 24 points. Miles Belyeu tallied 16 points, six boards, and five assists. Matas Deksnys had 15 points and four helpers, while Jakub Dombek finished with 12 points and five rebounds. Raishaun Brown came off the bench for seven rebounds.
The Panthers did a great job sharing the ball, as they had 19 assists to 11 turnovers. Davenport shot 29-of-63 for 46.0 percent from the field. They hit 12 three-pointers at a 38.7 percent clip. They went 12-of-19 for 63.2 percent from the charity stripe.
The Golden Eagles jumped out to the early 3-0 advantage following a Hoverson triple. They lead 5-3 after a Grant jumper, but the Panthers countered with a 8-0 run, as a Deksnys trey put Davenport ahead 11-5. The Panthers held the 16-10 advantage after a Luke Bara three-pointer. Minnesota Crookston responded, going on a 13-7 run to knot the game up 23-23 with a Sagna jumper with 9:45 remaining in the first half. The Golden Eagles led 26-25 following a Sagna bucket. However, the Panthers responded with a 6-0 run utilizing six points from Leech. Davenport went into the half with the 44-32 advantage following a Brown jumper.
The Panthers opened the second half on a 17-9 run as a Dombek dunk gave Davenport the 22-point lead with 14:36 left. Minnesota Crookston took a slice out of the lead with an 11-2 run stamped by a Deng dunk after a steal to trim the deficit to 13 points with 10:39 left in the game. The Panthers pushed the lead back to 16 with a James Felton jumper. They got the lead down to 10 as Hoverson drained three free throws with 4:33 left in the game. However, that is as close as Minnesota Crookston got as they fell 82-72.
The Panthers finished with 22 points off turnovers. Minnesota Crookston had the edge in the paint 32-28.
The Golden Eagles continue their trip in America's Dairyland with a 3 p.m. game at the University of Wisconsin Parkside.
