Men's Basketball | 11/27/2024 1:21:00 PM

#TIDBITS

Golden Eagle men's basketball will head to Florida over Thanksgiving weekend looking to get back to their winning ways. The Golden Eagles will play a pair of programs that they have never met in Eckerd College on Friday and the University of Tampa on Saturday. Minnesota Crookston will look to snap a three game losing streak this weekend.

·   NOT FAMILIAR WITH FLORIDA. When the Golden Eagles step foot in Florida and lace up their shoes and tip-off on Friday against the Tritons of Eckerd College, it will be the first ever games in Florida for the program. Minnesota Crookston has never played a game in the Sunshine State and this will be the furthest South that they have played a game in since they played three games in Puerto Rico in 2018-19, also over Thanksgiving weekend. The Golden Eagles will look to feast this weekend.

• FINISH IT STRONG. Minnesota Crookston will look to close out their challenging non-conference schedule strong this weekend. The Golden Eagles have played a very difficult schedule to get them geared up for the always tough NSIC schedule. The maroon and gold have played a pair of opponents that were or are ranked in the top-10 of their respective regions in Oklahoma Baptist and Upper Iowa, whom they led by 17 at the half. That challenging schedule continues this weekend, as they will close out their trip to Florida with UTampa, who is undefeated on the year at 5-0.

·  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 in that game against the Peacocks. Grant has four or more assists in all but one 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.

·    SWENBY HAS SWAG. Caiden Swenby heard his name called on Tuesday night in the NSIC opener against Minot State and he played well off the bench. Swenby played a career best 18 minutes in the loss and buried his first career three from the left corner, as well. The Golden Eagles like their bench and Swenby could be a big piece of that puzzle on that bench.
·   HANDLE IS THE MIDDLE PART OF HIS FIRST NAME. Chandler Meeks can seemingly handle anything that is thrown his way. The redshirt sophomore  was the only Golden Eagle in double-digits on Tuesday night, finishing with 14 points on 7-12 shooting, while pulling down two rebounds and snatching two steals. Meeks leads his team in scoring and has double-digit scoring outputs in all but one game on the year.

• 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: 9-52 Season at UMC: 11th Season (Third as Head Coach)

Eckerd College Tritons
Head Coach: Bryan Galuski
Record at Eckerd College: 37-69 Season at Eckerd College: 6th Season

University of Tampa Spartans
Head Coach: Linc Darner
Record at UTampa: 12-20  Season at UTampa: 2nd Season

Minnesota Crookston vs Eckerd College
Date: Friday, Nov. 29
Time: 6:30 P.M. (CT)
Place: St. Petersburg, Fla. / St. Petersburg College Gibbs Campus
Watch: https://sunshinestateconference.tv/
Stats: https://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statbroadcast.php?t=1&gid=ecke
Series Record: These two teams have never met
Last Meeting: N/A

Minnesota Crookston @ UTampa
Date: Saturday, Nov. 30
Time: 5:30 P.M. (CT)
Place: Tampa, Fla. / Bob Martinez Athletics Center
Watch: https://sunshinestateconference.tv/tampa/
Stats: https://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=558129
Series Record: The two programs have never met
Last Meeting: N/A


Weekly Snapshot

Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles (1-4)
Projected Starters
Sr. G 3 Reid Grant (6-3, Johnston, Iowa) 13.2 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 5.7 APG
R-So. G 5 Chandler Meeks (6-1, Omaha, Neb.) 14.0 PPG, 2.4 RPG
R-Sr. F 2 Aguek Deng (6-9, Des Moines, Iowa) 2.8 PPG,  7.2 RPG
Jr. G 13 Micah Garrett (6-3, Portland, Ore.) 8.8 PPG, 3.2 RPG
R-Jr. F 10 Jordan Mitchell (6-8, Columbus, Ohio) 7.4 PPG, 5.4 RPG,
Top Bench Players
Jr. F 25 Andrew Stokes (6-5, Westchester, Ill.) 7.2 PPG, 2.6 RPG
Sr. F 33 Ben Hoverson (6-6, Grand Forks, N.D.) 1.8 PPG, 1.4 RPG
Jr. G 1 Christian Bowen-Webb (6-2, Atchison, Kan.) 4.5 PPG
Fr. F 23 Brayden Carlson (6-9, Woodbury, Minn.) .7 PPG
Fr. G 12 Landon Dimler (6-5, Mankato, Minn.) 3.3 PPG, 2.3 RPG
Fr. G 11 Caiden Swenby (6-3, Fertile, Minn.) 1.5 PPG
Eckerd College Tritons (3-4)
Projected Starters
Sr. G 4 Isaiah Placide (6-4, Hampton, Ga.) 17.1 PPG, 3.9 RPG
Sr. G 10 Kent Garard (6-5, Kingsland, Ga.) 12.0 PPG, 6.3 RPG
Jr. G 11 Koa Baker (6-5, Eagle Mountain, Utah) 9.9 PPG, 6.4 RPG
Jr. G 20 Dante Bouchard (5-11, Gloversville, New York) 4.6 PPG, 1.9 RPG
Jr. F 24 Timothy Thompson (6-8, Georgetown, Guyana) 8.0 PPG, 7.1 RPG
Top Bench Players
So. F 15 Wyatt Triestman (6-6, East Irvington, New York) 6.0 PPG, 4.9 RPG
Fr. G 3 Brady Patterson (6-0, Jacksonville, Fla.) 4.5 PPG, 3.5 RPG
Fr. G 30 James LaFrance (6-2, Guilford, Conn.) 11.8 PPG, 1.3 RPG
Fr. G 22 Miquel Llompart (6-4, Alcuida, Spain) 3.3 PPG, 1.3 RPG
UTampa Spartans (4-0)
Projected Starters
So. G 1 Trey Lane (6-1, Lakeland, Fla.) 9.0 PPG, 3.0 RPG
So. G 11 Amarion Nimmers (6-3, Rock Island, Ill.) 13.8 PPG, 4.5 RPG
Sr. G 12 Bryan Williams (6-1, West Palm Beach, Fla.) 17.3 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 4.3 APG
Gr. G 21 Kaden Froebe (6-3, Lincoln, Ill.) 13.8 PPG, 4.3 PPG
Sr. F 32 Tyson Leitao (6-8, Chicago, Ill.) 12.0, 12.8 RPG
Top Bench Players
Sr. G 10 De'Andre Harvey (6-1, Daytona Beach, Fla.) 4.3 PPG, 2.5 RPG
Fr. F 6 Kyler Lamb (6-6, Williston, Fla.) 2.3 PPG, 2.8 RPG
Fr. G 14 Ryan Blount (6-6, Oviedo, Fla.) 14.8 PPG, 5.3 RPG
So. F 25 Jaxon Toney (6-7, Memphis, Tenn.) 2.5 PPG, 2.0 RPG

KNOW THE OPPONENTS

Eckerd College. The Tritons are 3-4 on the season, including a dominant win over the University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez on Tuesday night. Eckerd College has three wins this season, just one coming over an institution in the United States, which was a seven point win over Benedict College, who is winless on the year. The Tritons are in the midst of a three game homestand.

PICK YOUR POISON. In their win on Tuesday night against P.R.-Mayaguez, the Tritons saw almost everyone that touched the floor find the score sheet. Eckerd had five players in double-figures, including two off the bench in James LaFrance and Mekhi Perry. Eckerd played 15 guys in the win, albeit in a 41 point triumph.

WIDE DIFFERENCE. One thing to watch on Friday night could be the disparity at the free throw line. The Tritons shoot 26 free throws per game, which is 26th in the nation and have shot 171 free throws as a team this season. On the flip side, the Golden Eagles average 11.4 per game on the season, which is eighth lowest in the nation and have shot just 57 free throws through five games.

LEAD THE WAY.  The Tritons have a solid offense and have three scorers averaging more than 10 points on the year. They are led by senior Isaiah Placide. Placide is averaging 17.1 points per game on the year and has double-figures in every game this season and has had 10 or more field goal attempts in every game this season. Placide is top-three in the Sunshine State Conference in a number of categories, including field goal attempts, three point attempts and three pointers per game and is top-10 in scoring and free throw percentage.

Tampa. The Spartans are off to a great start in 2024-25, sitting at 4-0 on the year and play a game on Friday before meeting the Golden Eagles. Tampa is a basketball rich program, making the NCAA Tournament 17 times in their storied program, but haven't been there since 2014. The Spartans will look to put that streak to bed this season and are off to a good start.

THE MISSING LINC. Perhaps the guy to end their 10 year hiatus from the NCAA Tournament is legendary head coach Linc Darner. Darner is in his second season at the helm of UTampa, but has been head coach for 19 seasons, including stops at Division I St. Joseph's and Green Bay, with a National Championship at Florida Southern sandwiched in between.

99.5.  That's how many points the Spartans are averaging through four games. Tampa has the ninth best scoring offense in the nation and they have scored 100, 96 and 127 in their last three games, after they scored just 75 in their season opener. The Spartans do a ton of their damage from long range, as they lead their league in three-point makes per game and are second in three-point percentage.

GONE PORTALING.  The Spartans have seemingly used the transfer portal to strengthen their roster this season. Tampa has a whopping eight players on their roster that had previous collegiate stops including a pair of Division I transfers in Amarion Nimmers (University of Iowa) and Brock Williams (High Point University). It has worked so far for the Spartans, as many of their key contributors are transfers.