Men's Basketball | 11/25/2024 2:12:00 PM
#TIDBITS
Golden Eagle men's basketball will look to bounce back on a rare Tuesday night, as they look for their second win all-time in Minot. The Golden Eagles and Beavers will open NSIC play at the Minot State Dome as part of a doubleheader, with the women. The Golden Eagles will look to knock off the Beavers, who are undefeated and are ranked in the Central Region Poll. The Beavers are as consistent as anyone in the NSIC over the last few years and have lost to the Golden Eagles just once since they entered the Northern Sun.
· CBW. The Golden Eagles have been searching for a player off the bench that every time he lets it fly, it has a chance to go in. The Golden Eagles might have that with junior
Christian Bowen-Webb. The junior college transfer from Atchison, Kan., played in a handful of minutes in their season opening weekend, but he made a large impact last weekend. Bowen-Webb averaged 6.0 points per game in the two games and was 6-11 from long range. Bowen-Webb has a chance to be a huge impact bench piece for the Golden Eagles.
• DO WE GET AN INVITE TO THE BLOCK PARTY? No, not the kind of party that your neighborhood would throw on the Fourth of July. This block party consists of multiple Golden Eagles making it hard for their opponent to score. The Golden Eagles are one of the best shot-blocking teams in the nation and have eight or more blocks in three of their four games this season, including eight in a dominant first half against Upper Iowa.
Aguek Deng and
Jordan Mitchell each have nine blocks on the season, which lead the NSIC and are top-25 nationally.
· STRAW THAT STIRS THE DRINK. Reid Grant struggled in last Saturday's loss, shooting 2-12 from the field against the Rangers. It didn't take long for the senior from Johnston, Iowa to bounce back. Grant was outstanding on Sunday against Upper Iowa, scoring a career-high 27 points on 10-21 shooting from the field. The league's best assist man has been outstanding in that category as well, finishing with four assists. Grant has four or more assists in every game this season.
· DON'T DIM HIS LIGHT. Landon Dimler has seemingly worked his way into the Golden Eagle rotation with his athleticism and how hard he plays. The freshman from Mankato was someone that the coaching staff was excited about and he has given them the right to be excited. Dimler finished with a career-high five points last Sunday against Upper Iowa and then was even more outstanding against North Dakota State in the exhibition. Dimler finished with eight points and was 2-5 from long range, while playing 24 minutes off the bench against the Division I school. The Golden Eagles have something in Dimler.
· HOME TEAM ESCAPED. The Golden Eagles might have felt like they let one slip away in Thursday night's exhibition at North Dakota State. The Golden Eagles were oh so close to their first ever win over a Division I program. The Golden Eagles lost by seven, but had the game tied at 56 with less than four minutes to go. Minnesota Crookston shot better from the field than the Bison and made five more threes than NDSU, but they were outscored by eight at the free throw line. Minnesota Crookston has to feel great about their Thursday night performance, as they were seven points away from their first ever win over a Division I program.
· FAST START IN NSIC PLAY. The Golden Eagles will look to get off to a fast start tomorrow evening in Minot. It's the conference opener for both teams on Tuesday and the Golden Eagles will look for their second ever win in the most of the time unfriendly confines of the Minot State Dome. Minot State is currently undefeated and have not lost to the Golden Eagles in their last eight tries. The Golden Eagles are hoping the ninth time's the charm.
• HAVE YOUR BAGS PACKED. The Golden Eagles better be ready to put on the travel miles. The Golden Eagles will leave Monday night for Minot, play the Beavers on Tuesday night, come back to town on Tuesday night and then leave Wednesday for the Sunshine State. It will be a three game in four day stretch for the Golden Eagles, before the heart of the conference schedule.
Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles
Head Coach: Bryan Beamish
Record at UMC: 9-51 Season at UMC: 11th Season (Third as Head Coach)
Minot State Beavers
Head Coach: Matt Murken
Record at Minot State: 266-170 Season at Minot State: 13th Season
Minnesota Crookston @ Minot State
Date: Tuesday, Nov. 26
Time: 7:30 P.M.
Place: Minot, N.D. / Minot State Dome
Watch:
https://nsicnetwork.com/msubeavers/
Stats:
https://msubeavers.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Series Record: Minot State lead 21-3 all-time
Last Meeting: 76-61 win for the Beavers last season
Weekly Snapshot
Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles (1-3)
Projected Starters
Sr. G 3
Reid Grant (6-3, Johnston, Iowa) 14.3 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 5.7 APG
R-So. G 5
Chandler Meeks (6-1, Omaha, Neb.) 14.0 PPG, 2.5 RPG
R-Sr. F 2
Aguek Deng (6-9, Des Moines, Iowa) 3.0 PPG, 7.8 RPG
Jr. G 13
Micah Garrett (6-3, Portland, Ore.) 9.5 PPG, 3.5 RPG
R-Jr. F 10
Jordan Mitchell (6-8, Columbus, Ohio) 8.5 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 2.5 BPG
Top Bench Players
Jr. F 25
Andrew Stokes (6-5, Westchester, Ill.) 7.5 PPG, 3.0 RPG
Sr. F 33
Ben Hoverson (6-6, Grand Forks, N.D.) 2.3 PPG, 1.8 RPG
Jr. G 1
Christian Bowen-Webb (6-2, Atchison, Kan.) 6.0 PPG
Fr. F 23
Brayden Carlson (6-9, Woodbury, Minn.) 1.0 PPG
Fr. G 12
Landon Dimler (6-5, Mankato, Minn.) 2.5 PPG, 3.0 RPG
Minot State Beavers (6-0)
Projected Starters
Jr. F 4 Sam West (6-5, Shakopee, Minn.) 10.2 PPG, 6.8 RPG
Jr. G 20 Ayouba Berthe (6-4, Brooklyn Park, Minn.) 15.5 PPG, 3.0 RPG
Sr. G 21 Jalen Cook (6-5, Brooklyn Center, Minn.) 15.7 PPG, 5.0 RPG
Sr. G 24 Jaxon Gunville (6-0, Minot, N.D.) 14.7 PPG, 2.7 RPG
Jr. F 50 Caleb Van De Griend (6-8, Bridgetown, Australia) 16.7 PPG, 11.3 PRG
Top Bench Players
R-So. F 00 Jayden Wysocki (6-7, Rochester, Minn.) 4.0 PPG, 2.3 RPG
Gr. G 2 Daryl Rice, Jr. (5-9, Tyrone, Ga.) 1.2 PPG, 1.0 RPG
R-So. G 11 Trey Brandt (6-1, Beulah, N.D.) 5.8 PPG, 2.2 RPG
R-Jr. F 12 Dylan Gichaba (6-6, Brooklyn Park, Minn.) 2.7 PPG, 2.7 RPG
KNOW THE OPPONENTS
Minot State. The Beavers have had a fantastic start to their season, having won their first six games of the season and are ranked in the top-10 of the CSC Central Region Poll. The Golden Eagles will be the first Division II opponent from the United States that the Beavers have played in 18 days.
BOX HIM OUT. Quite simply, if you don't put a body on Caleb Van De Griend, he will grab the ball on a miss, offensive or defensive. The junior from Australia leads the NSIC in rebounding and is an exceptional offensive rebounder, averaging 5.5 offensive rebounds per game. Van De Griend has double-digit boards in all but two games this season. In two games last season against the maroon and gold, Van De Griend finished with 19 rebounds, including 14 in the first meeting last season.
SHOOTERS SHOOT. Jaxon Gunville is a shooter and at times, he can be lights out. This season, Gunville has shot the ball 69 times, with 62 of those coming from behind the arc. Gunville has just one make from inside the three-point line this season. The Golden Eagles did a great job on Gunville last season, as he scored just nine points in two games in 2023-24.
ALL FIVE WILL SCORE. The Beavers love to score the basketball, as they rank near the top in the NSIC in scoring. It's early, but a good sign that the scoring barrage will continue is the balance for the Beavers. All five starters in the starting five are averaging over 10 points per game, led by Van De Griend, who is averaging nearly 17 a game. Odds are, at least one scorer will taper off, but for now, it's one of the best starting fives in the entire nation.
