Final Weekend Before Christmas on Tap for Golden Eagle Men as No. 2 MSUM, Northern State Head North


#TIDBITS

Golden Eagle men's basketball will be back at home this weekend before the Christmas break for what might be their toughest test of the young season. The Golden Eagles will play host to undefeated and a top-five team in the nation, MSU Moorhead on Thursday night and then they will host perennial power Northern State on Saturday. In their four conference losses, they have been close, losing by a combined 22 points in those four losses, with their largest loss coming the last time they were at home, a 12 point loss to Minot State. It's a crucial two games for the Golden Eagles and maybe some Christmas magic this weekend will be bestowed upon them.

·   30 PIECE. Ever since donning the maroon and gold as a sophomore last season, Blaize Sagna has proven to everyone around the conference that he is one of the most complete and dynamic scorers in the NSIC. Sagna is averaging 20.9 points per game and 5.0 rebounds per game and has back-to-back games with double-doubles. Sagna already has three 30 point outputs this year, the most by a Golden Eagle since Harrison Cleary did it back in 2019. Sagna is dynamic and will continue to lead the Golden Eagles offensively this year.

• CURRY & KLAY? Okay, maybe the duo of Sagna and Reid Grant aren't as great as the best three-point shooting duo in NBA history, but still, they are pretty, pretty good. Both Sagna and Grant have made 22 shots from long range and are each shooting over 43 percent from the field, with Grant being one of the best in the league shooting at a 47 percent clip. The Golden Eagles do shoot the three pretty well and the duo is a large part as to why.

·  NO DENG REBOUND FOR YOU. Aguek Deng got off to a blazing start on the glass to start this season, averaging more than 10 rebounds per game through the first four games of the season. Although he has slowed down his pace a tad, he is still one of the better glass cleaners in the conference, pulling down 8.7 rebounds per game, good for second in the NSIC. If the Golden Eagles can get 16 points, seven rebounds and five blocks from the junior like they did three games ago against St. Cloud State, the Golden Eagles could be in a position to get one of their largest wins in program history on Thursday night against the undefeated Dragons.

·   CASH IN AT THE CHARITY STRIPE.  Rebounds are important. Three-point shooting is important. Defense is absolutely important. None might be more important than the charity stripe. The charity stripe hasn't been as kind to the Golden Eagles as they would like this season. The Golden Eagles are 14th in the NSIC in free throw percentage and in four conference games are shooting 54 percent from the charity stripe. In order to beat good teams this weekend, the Golden Eagles will have to take advantage of every chance they get at the free throw line.

·    CONTEST EVERY SHOT. The Golden Eagles defense has vastly improved from this season compared to last season. The Golden Eagles are on pace to allow below 70 points per game, which would be almost 13 points better than 2022-23. The big reason has been the Golden Eagles ability to force teams into tough shots. When they take those shots, they aren't having luck with those shots. The Golden Eagles are holding opponents to shoot just 40 percent from the field and an outstanding 32 percent from deep. The Golden Eagles will look to continue their outstanding run on the defensive end this weekend against two elite offensive teams.

·   LET'S KEEP TALKING ABOUT DEFENSE. Minnesota Crookston and second year head coach Bryan Beamish has sort of hung their hat on the defensive side of the ball this season. It has been an impressive turnaround. The Golden Eagles have held opponents to shoot less than 30 percent from deep on four different occasions this season, already just three games short of matching last season's high. The Golden Eagles have done a good job of forcing tough shots which lead to misses and then they are finishing the possession, as the Golden Eagles have won the rebounding battle six times this season, two of those games have resulted in wins.

• HE'S NOT SCARED OF WOLVES. De'Antray Hughes had one of the best games of his career last season against the Golden Eagles opponent this Saturday. The senior from New Orleans had a career-high 22 points and 10 rebounds on 10-16 from the field, both career-high's, as well. The Golden Eagles will look to Hughes this weekend to have another big game against a really good opponent in Northern State.


Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles
Head Coach: Bryan Beamish
Record at UMC: 5-32 Season at UMC: Eighth Season (Second as Head Coach)


MSU Moorhead Dragons
Head Coach: Tim Bergstraser
Record at MSUM: 35-7 Season at MSUM: 2nd Season


Northern State Wolves
Head Coach: Saul Phillips
Record at NSU: 94-32 Season at NSU: 5th Season


MSU Moorhead @ Minnesota Crookston
Date: Thursday, Dec. 14
Time: 5:30 P.M.
Place: Crookston, Minn. / Lysaker Gymnasium
Watch: https://nsicnetwork.com/goldeneaglesports/
Live Stats: https://goldeneaglesports.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Series Record: MSUM leads 35-11
Last Meeting: 85-77 win in Crookston
Officials: Perry Olson, Mike Gullingsrud, Brad Syllaaisen


Northern State @ Minnesota Crookston
Date: Saturday, Dec. 16
Time: 1 P.M.
Place: Crookston, Minn. / Lysaker Gymnasium
Watch: https://nsicnetwork.com/goldeneaglesports/
Live Stats: https://goldeneaglesports.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Series Record: NSU leads 44-2 in the all-time series
Last Meeting: 93-68 win for the Wolves in Crookston
Officials: Nate Meissner, David Drexler, Kaden Keuneman


Weekly Snapshot

Minnesota Crookston (3-6)
Projected Starters
Jr. G 3 Reid Grant (6-3, Johnston, Iowa) 16.6 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 4.4 APG
Jr. G 1 Blaize Sagna (6-3, London, England) 20.9 PPG, 5.0 RPG
R-Jr. F 13 Aguek Deng (6-9, Des Moines, Iowa) 8.8 PPG, 8.7 RPG
R-Sr. F 2 De'Antray Hughes (6-7 New Orleans, La.) 5.4 PPG, 6.7 RPG
Jr. F 33 Ben Hoverson (6-6, Grand Forks, N.D.) 6.2 PPG, 1.9 RPG
Top Bench Players
R-Jr. F 10 Jordan Mitchell (6-8, Columbus, Ohio) 2.8 PPG, 5.4 RPG
R-Fr. G 12 Peter Fuchs, Jr. (6-4, Wausau, Wis.) 5.7 PPG, 1.3 RPG
No. 2 MSU Moorhead Dragons (10-0)
Projected Starters
Jr. G 0 Jamir Price (6-3, Rock Island, Ill.) 14.9 PPG, 4.4 RPG
Jr. G 4 Jacob Beeninga (6-0, Maple Grove, Minn.) 20.4 PPG, 2.1 RPG
So. F 5 Logan Kinsey (6-6, Blaine, Minn.) 9.0 PPG, 4.9 RPG
Jr. G 22 Gabe Myren (6-3, Blaine, Minn.) 8.6 PPG, 3.8 RPG
Sr. F 24 Dane Zimmer (6-7, Hopkins, Minn.) 10.3 PPG, 8.0 RPG
Top Bench Players
Jr. G 1 Ja'Kair Sanchez (6-4, Syracuse, NY) 10.2 PPG, 3.5 RPG
So. G 10 Eddie Beeninga (6-1, Maple Grove, Minn.) 2.6 PPG, 1.5 RPG
So. F 25 Jacob Jennissen (7-1, Sauk Centre, Minn.) 4.3 PPG, 3.5 RPG
Northern State Wolves (5-5)
Projected Starters
So. F 0 Michael Nhial (6-7, Fargo, N.D.) 6.9 PPG, 5.4 RPG
Gr. G 11 Augustin Reede (6-2, Aberdeen, S.D.) 10.4 PPG, 1.4 RPG
Jr. G 12 Josh Dilling (6-4, Oshkosh, Wis.) 20.9 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 4.4 APG
Jr. G 10 Trey Longstreet (6-7, Waverly, Minn.) 6.4 PPG, 2.1 RPG
Jr. F 21 Jacksen Moni (6-10, Fargo, N.D.) 20.4 PPG, 7.5 RPG
Top Bench Players
Jr. F 3 Andrew Bergan (6-8, Aberdeen, S.D.) 4.1 PPG, 3.0 RPG
Fr. G 5 Isaiah Hagen (6-3, Orono, Minn.) 4.6 PPG, 2.9 RPG
Sr. G/F 24 Kobe Busch (6-5, Huron, S.D.) 1.8 PPG, 3.6 RPG


KNOW THE OPPONENTS

MSU Moorhead. How good are the Dragons? Well, the simple answer is really, really good. MSUM is currently ranked No. 2 in both the NABC and COSIDA poll, one of the highest rankings in school history. The Dragons are off to a 10-0 start, but barely escaped St. Cloud State, having to make a comeback in the final minutes to escape the Huskies at home. MSUM hasn't lost in Crookston in their last two tries.

HE'S BEEN THAT GUY. The Beeninga name is synonymous with MSU men's basketball. Jacob Beeninga is carving out one of the more impressive careers wearing a Dragon uniform. This season, Beeninga is top-40 in the nation and fifth in the NSIC in points per game with over 20 points per game. Beeninga is also first in the NSIC in free throw attempts, free throw makes and three point attempts. Beeninga has scored in double-figures in 14 straight games, dating back to last season and finished with 23 points the last time these two teams met in Crookston last season.

THE PRICE IS RIGHT. Jamir Price has brought the Dragons scoring, toughness and experience at the highest level. Price is a transfer from Division I Cleveland State, a school who made the NCAA Tournament in 2021 and the NIT in 2022. Price makes for a nice duo with Beeninga, currently averaging 14.9 points per game and averaging 18 points on just 10-27 from the field, but was 13-15 against the Beavers and Huskies last weekend. The Dragons might have one of the best backcourts in the entire nation with Price and Beeninga.

GREAT DANE. Dane Zimmer is one of the longer tenured Dragons and he has seen a ton of wins in his time in Moorhead. This season, Zimmer is one of four Dragons averaging double-figures and helps lead the way for one of the best offenses in the NSIC. Zimmer also leads MSUM in rebounding with 8.0 per game. The second best rebounder is Logan Kinsey with 4.9 rebounds per game. The senior from Hopkins, Minn., has three double-doubles on the season.

Northern State. It doesn't get any easier for the Golden Eagles on Saturday, as they will welcome in Northern State, an NSIC power, who has won five of their last six games, with their only blemish being a 10 point loss to MSU Moorhead. NSU will look to get back to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year.

HE'S RIGHT ON THE MONI. Jacksen Moni has been a force in the NSIC ever since he stepped foot onto the beautiful campus in Aberdeen. The junior from Fargo, N.D., has been extra special this season. He, along with Josh Dilling, are both in the top five in the NSIC in scoring at over 20 points a game and is seventh in the conference with 7.5 rebounds per game. Moni is really good and will be a tough matchup for the home team this weekend.

EN FUEGO. I believe that is Spanish for absolutely on fire. Josh Dilling literally cannot miss. The former Golden Eagle and junior from Oshkosh, Wis., is currently shooting 60.4 percent from deep on 53 attempts. Dilling ranks second nationally in three-point percentage and is 19-24 from deep the last four games. The last thing the Golden Eagles want to do is leave Dilling open, because if they do, he will haunt the colors he once donned.

THREEDE. The Wolves are especially dangerous because they have a dynamic duo in Moni and Dilling, but they also have Augustin Reede, who is a sixth year senior and brings a wealth of experience. Reede actually leads the Wolves in three-point attempts this season and has shot over 70 percent of his field goal attempts from long range. The Wolves can simply outscore people and a big reason is their ability to hurt you from long range.