KENOSHA, Wis. - The University of Minnesota Crookston men's basketball team ended the game on a 7-1 run to defeat 2022-23 NCAA Tournament team University of Wisconsin-Parkside 67-60 on their home court, De Simone Arena, Saturday, November 18.
The Golden Eagles turned up their defensive performance Saturday afternoon, holding their foes under 70 points. In all three games Minnesota Crookston has held teams under 70, they have won. As a contrast, in their two losses the Golden Eagles gave up over 80 points.
Minnesota Crookston improved to 3-2 with the victory. They have already surpassed their win total from 2022-23, a year in which they tallied two wins. Head Coach Bryan Beamish is in his second season as the leading man for the Golden Eagles. The Rangers dropped to 2-2 with the loss. Wisconsin-Parkside went 21-9 last season, earning a NCAA Tournament bid.
Minnesota Crookston was guided by the hand of Reid Grant (Jr., G, Johnston, Iowa), who finished with 21 points, on 7-of-11 from the field, and 3-of-6 from beyond the arc. Blaize Sagna (Jr., G, London, England) notched 17 points on 6-of-13 from the field, and 4-of-7 from distance. Aguek Deng (Jr., F, Des Moines, Iowa) had a double-double with 11 points and 13 boards. De'Antray Hughes (R-Sr., F/C, New Orleans, La.) finished with six points and nine boards, while Jordan Mitchell (Jr., F, Columbus, Ohio) played a big role off the bench with seven points and seven rebounds.
The Golden Eagles shot 25-of-50 from the field for 50 percent. They were 8-of-20 for 40.0 percent from beyond the arc. Minnesota Crookston hit 9-of-13 for 69.2 percent from the stripe. The Golden Eagles finished with 10 assists, to 11 turnovers. They outrebounded their foes 36-28.
Wisconsin-Parkside looked to 13 points from Josiah Palmer. Colin O'Rourke added 11 points, while Sam O'Rourke notched 13 off the bench. Nick Brown led Wisconsin-Parkside with eight boards.
The Rangers were limited by Minnesota Crookston's defense, shooting at just a 38.6 percent clip from the field. A large portion of their makes came from three, where they went 10-of-28 for 35.7 percent.
The Rangers started the game on a 5-0 run, as a Palmer triple gave them the 5-0 lead. They moved their led to 12-2 on a Sam Devault jumper, and were able to extend their lead to 22-6 on a Ethan Ivan bucket with 10:10 left in the first half.
The Golden Eagles were able to get the deficit down to nine following an 8-0 run, culminating with a Mitchell bucket to trim the Ranger lead to 24-15. The Rangers pushed their lead out to 14 with 3:28 left in the half with free throws from O'Rouke. However, the Golden Eagles ended the first half on a 13-3 run to trim the deficit to three points going into the break.
Minnesota Crookston built on the positive momentum from the end of the first half, opening the second stanza on an 8-0 run. A Hughes dunk off an offensive rebound put a stamp on the rally, giving U of M Crookston the 37-32 lead with 17:28 remaining. The Rangers took the lead back with back-to-back three-pointers to make it 38-37 with 15:52 left. The game would go back-and-forth for the next several minutes with Minnesota Crookston and Wisconsin-Parkside tied 42-42 after a Mitchell old-fashioned three-point play. Wisconsin-Parkside held the 46-44 lead after an O'Rourke jumper with 11:43 remaining. Minnesota Crookston countered with a 7-0 run led by three pointers from Sagna and Grant to give the Golden Eagles a 51-46 lead. The Rangers would make a final charge in the game, pulling within one on a Palmer three with 2:03 remaining. However, Minnesota Crookston closed the game on a 7-1 run guided by a Sagna triple. The Golden Eagles won the game 67-60.
Minnesota Crookston opens conference play at home Tuesday, November 21 at 5:30 p.m., against Minot State University.
