Minnesota Crookston Back At Home as Warriors, Mavericks Head North for Alumni Weekend


#TIDBITS

Golden Eagle men's basketball will be back at home after a three-game hiatus this weekend as the Golden Eagles welcome in Winona State and No. 3 Minnesota State. Minnesota Crookston will be happy to be back home. The Golden Eagles averaged just 58 points per game on the road, all losses. The Golden Eagles will hope that being back at home, where they defeated the Northern State Wolves the last time they were inside Lysaker Gymnasium will help end the brief three game losing streak.

·   WARRIORS STRUGGLE FROM THREE. The last time Minnesota Crookston and Winona State met a season ago, it was an outstanding defensive performance for Minnesota Crookston, albeit in a defeat. It was a low scoring, defensive struggle type of game, as the Warriors won 58-53. In that game, Minnesota Crookston held the Warriors to shoot just 40 percent from the field and a season-low four percent from three on 1-22 shooting. This year, the Golden Eagles will look for a similar type of performance on that side of the ball.

• THAT'S QUITE A PERFORMANCE, PETE. Peter Fuchs, Jr., had his best game as a Golden Eagle against Augustana last Saturday night. The redshirt freshman from Wausau, Wis., was outstanding off the bench, scoring 10 points on 5-11 shooting from the field, all of which were career bests. Normally the first player off the bench for the maroon and gold, Fuchs, Jr., has eight games this season with seven or more points and has six games where he has played 20 or more minutes off the bench.

·  NUMBER ONE. What a year it has been for junior guard Blaize Sagna. The second-year Golden Eagle from across the pond in London, England has been one of the best players in the Northern Sun all year long. Sagna is second in the NSIC in minutes played at 516 and is second in the conference in scoring at 21.6 points per game and averaged 19 points per game this past weekend against Wayne State College and Augustana. Blaize has also scored in double-figures in all 14 games this season, becoming the first Golden Eagle to do that since Harrison Cleary, the conference's all-time leading scorer, did it in 2019, where he scored in double-digits in all 29 games he played that season. That's a pretty good name to be associated with if you're number one.

·   BIG BEN.  What a performance it was for junior forward Ben Hoverson last Saturday against Augustana. Hoverson had gone nine games since his last double-digit scoring game, but against the Vikings, he added 15 points in 27 minutes on 4-11 shooting from the field and 3-8 from deep. It was great to see Hoverson shoot the ball from deep well and he will look to continue that this weekend when the Golden Eagles will need the shooting to knock off the Warriors and Mavericks.

·    DISH OUT THE ASSISTS. Reid Grant has added leadership on and off the floor this season and on the floor, he has been outstanding every time he steps onto the hardwood. The junior transfer from the University of North Dakota leads the NSIC in minutes with 521 and has just one game with less than 35 minutes played and that came against MSU Moorhead where he fouled out. Grant is fifth in the NSIC in assists per game with 4.1 per game and is averaging 4.3 assists in his last four games. Grant has six games this season with five or more assists and has asserted himself as one of the more important offensive players for the Golden Eagles.

·   GET THAT SHOT OUT OF HERE. The Golden Eagles improvement on the defensive end this season can be attested to a number of things. Perimeter defense, rebounding, forcing tough shots. The list could go on and on. On that list, you will have to put quality shot blocking. In fact, it might be near the top of the list. The Golden Eagles are second in the NSIC in blocked shots with 57, but they lead the league in blocks per game with an astounding 4.07 per game. The Golden Eagles are top-50 in the nation in that same category, as well. The Golden Eagles have six games this season with five or more blocks on the year. Aguek Deng is a big factor in the blocked shots, as he is in the top 25 nationally in terms of total blocks and blocks per game.

• ALUMNI WEEKEND. This weekend is one of the more fun weekends on the calendar for Golden Eagle men's basketball. The Golden Eagles will hold their annual alumni weekend and are expected to have a decent contingent of former Golden Eagles back this weekend as they welcome in Winona State and Minnesota State.


Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles
Head Coach: Bryan Beamish
Record at UMC: 6-36 Season at UMC: Eighth Season (Second as Head Coach)


Winona State Warriors
Head Coach: Todd Eisner
Record at WSU: 124-97  Season at WSU: 9th Season


Minnesota State Mavericks
Head Coach: Matt Margenthaler
Record at MSU: 467-209  Season at MSU: 23rd Season


Winona State @ Minnesota Crookston
Date: Friday, Jan 12
Time: 5:30 P.M.
Place: Crookston, Minn. / Gary Senske Court at Lysaker Gymnasium
Watch: https://nsicnetwork.com/goldeneaglesports/
Live Stats: https://goldeneaglesports.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Series Record: Winona State leads 33-4
Last Meeting: 58-53 win for WSU in Winona last year
Officials: John Yorkovich, Nate Meissner and David Drexler

Minnesota State @ Minnesota Crookston
Date: Saturday, Jan 13
Time: 3:30 P.M.
Watch: https://nsicnetwork.com/goldeneaglesports/
Live Stats: https://goldeneaglesports.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Record: Minnesota State leads the series 19-1
Last Meeting: 71-66 win for MSU last season in Crookston
Officials: Perry Olson, Paul Raj and Kaden Keuneman


Weekly Snapshot

Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles (4-10)
Projected Starters
Jr. G 3 Reid Grant (6-3, Johnston, Iowa) 14.9 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 4.1 APG
Jr. G 1 Blaize Sagna (6-3, London, England) 21.6 PPG, 4.1 RPG
R-Jr. F 13 Aguek Deng (6-9, Des Moines, Iowa) 6.7 PPG, 8.6 RPG, 2.3 BPG
R-Sr. F 2 De'Antray Hughes (6-7 New Orleans, La.) 4.6 PPG, 5.9 RPG
R-Jr. F 10 Jordan Mitchell (6-8, Columbus, Ohio) 4.8 PPG, 5.9 RPG
Top Bench Players
R-Fr. G 12 Peter Fuchs, Jr. (6-4, Wausau, Wis.) 6.1 PPG, 1.3 RPG
Jr. F 33 Ben Hoverson (6-6, Grand Forks, N.D.) 6.1 PPG, 1.9 RPG
Fr. G 11 Myles Adams (6-6, Rosemount, Minn.) 3.0 PPG, 2.0 RPG
Winona State Warriors (9-5)
Projected Starters
Jr. G 2 Connor Dillon (6-2, Peoria, Ill.) 21.9 PPG, 4.4 RPG
Jr. G 3 Declan Dillon (6-1, Peoria, Ill.) 7.0 PPG, 5.0 RPG
So. G 5 Devon Fielding (6-2, La Crosse, Wis.) 4.9 PPG, 2.6 RPG
Sr. F 13 Carson Arenz (6-5, Onalaska, Wis.) 5.6 PPG, 5.2 RPG
Jr. F 30 Connor Drew (6-7, Huxley, Iowa) 11.8 PPG, 4.2 RPG
Top Bench Players
Jr. G 0 Olumide Adelodun (6-5, Calgary, Alberta) 14.0 PPG, 5.0 RPG
Sr. G 22 Jordan Wilkins (6-1, West Chicago, Ill.) 3.6 PPG, .7 RPG
Gr. C 25 Brock Voigt (6-6, Sun Prairie, Wis.) 6.2 PPG, 3.6 RPG

No. 3 Minnesota State Mavericks (14-0)
Projected Starters
Jr. G 1 Kyreese Willingham (6-5, Waseca, Minn.) 12.7 PPG, 5.0 RPG
Sr. G 2 Malik Willingham (6-3, Waseca, Minn.) 19.2 PPG, 4.0 RPG
Gr. F 4 Dylan Peeters (6-8, Eldridge, Iowa) 11.2 PPG, 7.4 RPG
Gr. G 12 Elijah Hazekamp (6-5, Sioux City, Iowa) 11.0 PPG, 5.3 RPG
Jr. G 23 Justin Eagins (6-3, Downers Grove, Ill.) 13.6 PPG, 3.1 RPG
Top Bench Players
Jr. G 5 Harrison Braudis (6-2, Overland Park, Kan.) 6.7 PPG, 2.1 RPG
So. F 14 Malcolm Jones (6-8, Prior Lake, Minn.) 5.4 PPG, 4.1 RPG
Jr. F 21 Brady Williams (6-7, Eyota, Minn.) 7.5 PPG, 4.2 RPG


#HEADLINES


1. Back at home

2. Golden Eagles looking to upset No. 2/3 Minnesota State

3. Can the Golden Eagles find more offense?

4. Faster starts = wins?

5. Have to defend this weekend


KNOW THE OPPONENTS

Winona State. Winona State is a model of consistency in the NSIC and is off to another good start this season. Winona State is 9-5 overall and is 4-4 in the NSIC, but has gone 2-2 in their last four games, including a loss to Northern State by a basket last Saturday. The Warriors will head to Crookston on Friday and then will make their way down Highway-2 on Saturday to take on Bemidji State.

CD. Connor Dillon has emerged as one of the best scorers and players in the entire Northern Sun. Dillon has raised his scoring average ever since stepping foot onto Winona State's campus. The junior from Illinois averaged 9.0 points per game as a freshman and doubled that average last season, by scoring over 18 points per game on the year. This year, Dillon is leading the NSIC in scoring at 21.9 points per game and has scored in double-figures in every game this season, including a career-high 40 points against Concordia-St. Paul and a pair of 33 point games this season. Stopping Dillon this weekend could be way easier said than done.

WELCOME TO THE LINEUP. Olumide Adelodun made his Winona State debut on New Year's Eve, a win for the Warriors against Wisconsin-Parkside. Since scoring four points against the Rangers, the Ohio University transfer has averaged 19 points per game in the two games since then, including a career-high 25 in the two-point loss to Northern State last weekend. Adelodun also gathered 11 rebounds against the Wolves, good for his first career double-double. Adelodun adds another punch to a solid Warrior offense.

WIN THE LONG BALL BATTLE. When Winona State outshoots their opponents from deep, there is a great chance that they will win the ball game. The Warriors have won or tied the three-point battle nine different times this season and they are 7-2 in those games. They have just two wins this season when their opponents have made more three-point shots. That could be something to watch for this Friday night.

Minnesota State. It's crazy to think that a team is 14-0 and based on National Polls, isn't the highest ranked team in their own conference. Unfortunately for the Mavericks, MSU Moorhead resides at the top spot and are also 14-0. Besides that fact, the Mavs are No. 2/3 in national polls and will look to stay undefeated this weekend on the road at Bemidji State and Minnesota Crookston.

SUCCESS IN THE PORTAL. A big reason the Mavericks are off to such a fantastic start was their ability this past offseason to get outstanding talent from the transfer portals. MSU brought in three Division II transfers: Dylan Peeters and Elijah Hazekamp (both from Truman State) and Justin Eagins (Wayne State). All three of those players are averaging in double-figures and have been huge impacts on both ends of the floor for the Mavericks.

WHERE THERE'S A WILL, THERE'S A WAY. Malik Willingham has brought experience and scoring this season to Minnesota State. The senior from Waseca leads his team in scoring with 19.2 points per game, which is top-10 in the NSIC and has just one game with less than 10 points on the year. Willingham can score at all three levels, shooting 44 percent from the field and 39 percent from deep. When Willingham goes, so do the top-five Mavericks.

A SIGN OF THINGS TO COME? For whatever reason, when the Mavericks and Golden Eagles meet on the hardwood, it has been a game right down to the wire. That's been the case the last six times these two programs have met. In those six matchups, the Mavericks are 5-1, but every game has been in single digits and there have been wins by the Mavericks of three and two in that stretch. Minnesota State knows how to win the close games, especially in this series.