MOORHEAD, Minn. - The University of Minnesota Crookston men's basketball team found themselves down 16 points early and were unable to overcome the early deficit, falling 90-64 tto Minnesota State University Moorhead. 

The Golden Eagles fell to 3-9 (2-4 NSIC) with Saturday's loss, while No. 6/9 MSU Moorhead improved to 10-2 (5-1 NSIC) with the victory. The Dragons have won the last nine games in the series. Minnesota Crookston splits the weekend after a win Friday at Northern State. 

Minnesota Crookston was led by Reid Grant (Sr., G, Johnston, Iowa) with 16 points. Andrew Stokes (Jr., G/F, Westchester, Ill.) chipped in nine points. Christian Bowen-Webb (Jr., G, Atchison, Kan.) came off the bench for 10 points. Landon Dimler (Fr., G, Mankato, Minn.) came off the bench for 11. 

The Golden Eagles were 22-of-60 from the field for 36.7 percent. They went 7-of-24 from beyond the arc for 29.2 percent, and 13-of-21 from the stripe for 61.9 percent. Minnesota Crookston was outrebounded 40-29. They had eight assists to 10 turnovers, and 12 offensive rebounds.

MSU Moorhead was led by Carson Johnson, who had 22 points in his first career start. Eddie Beeninga added 16 points, while Logan Kinsey had 10. Jacob Jennissen paced the Dragons with eight boards. 

The Dragons went 26-of-51 from the field for 51.0 percent. They were 9-of-16 from behind the three-point line for 56.3 percent, and were 29-of-36 from the foul line for 80.6 percent. 

The Golden Eagles started out in an 18-2 hole after an Adam Jenkins free throw with 14:29 left in the first half. Minnesota Crookston was able to get the deficit down to 21-6 following a Meeks free throw. An old-fashioned three-point play from Stokes took the lead to 24-9 with under 10 minutes remaining in the first. A Johnson triple extended the Dragon lead to 27-9. MSU Moorhead pushed their lead to 39-13 on a Levi Birkholz free throw. The Golden Eagles got the deficit down to 39-16 with a Christian Bowen-Webb triple.The Dragons went into the locker room with a 49-23 advantage.

Minnesota Crookston scored the first four points of the second half to close the gap to 49-27. The Dragons widened the gap back out to 57-29 with a Shaun Wysocki lay-in. A Johnson triple widened the gap to 62-31 with under 13 minutes left in the tilt. The Golden Eagles trimmed the deficit to 64-36 on a Grant floater. A Grant jumper took the MSU Moorhead lead down to 69-43. MSU Moorhead picked up the 90-64 win.

Minnesota Crookston will go on break and will return Friday, January 3 to host Southwest Minnesota State University at 7:30 p.m., in Crookston.