Men's Basketball | 12/4/2024 12:06:00 PM

#TIDBITS

Golden Eagle men's basketball is set for their first NSIC weekend of the season as they host their Highway-2 rivals, Bemidji State, on Friday and then welcome in St. Cloud State on Saturday to close out the weekend. Minnesota Crookston is in the midst of a five game losing streak, but have played three teams in the top-25 in that stretch. The Golden Eagles have played opponents exceptionally tough, now they're looking to play a full 40 this weekend and get off to a fast start in Northern Sun play.

·   SHOWING OUT ON OFFENSE. Minnesota Crookston was looking to get on track on the offensive side of the ball and they might have done just that in the double overtime loss to No. 23 UTampa. Granted, it took 10 extra minutes, but the Golden Eagles scored a season-high 96 points. The 96 points was also the most they have scored since 2018-19, when they scored 108 in a regulation win over MSUM. It was the first time in the 90's for the Golden Eagles since 2019, when they did it in six games. The Golden Eagles also raised their scoring average by almost five points and now sit at more than 67 PPG as a team. The Golden Eagles have the ability to be a really good offensive team and they hope that last Saturday was a preview of things to come this weekend.

• RG3. What a game it was for Reid Grant last Saturday. Against the Spartans, the senior from Johnston, Iowa finished with 12 points, while dishing out a career-high 11 assists and pulling down eight rebounds. Grant was just two rebounds shy of the program's first triple-double and set the school record for most assists in a game with his 11 assists. Grant also leads the NSIC in minutes played per game, after leading the NSIC in the same category as a junior. Grant is so important to what the Golden Eagles do on both ends of the floor.

·  MUST HAVE BEEN STOKED FOR THAT START. Aguek Deng didn't suit up for the maroon and gold last Saturday against Tampa, which inserted junior Andrew Stokes into the starting five and man, the Westchester, Ill., native did not disappoint. The junior finished with 18 points while playing 34 minutes. Both of those figures were a career high and No. 25 continues to get better and better, which will suit the Golden Eagles well in conference play.

·   ALWAYS IN THE REARVIEW.  UTampa probably thought that the game was put away on many different occasions, but as Charlotte Hornets announcer Eric Collins once said, "Good golly, they're always in the rearview." Minnesota Crookston came back on two different occasions, once in regulation and another in overtime. Hunter Lorenson hit the biggest shot of his young career to tie the game at the end of regulation. Once trailing by seven, the Golden Eagles tied up the game at the end of the first overtime following a three from Grant. The Golden Eagles played an instant classic last week and showed heart and grit during the entire 50 minutes.

·    DO WHAT YOU DO. Speaking of outstanding performances, redshirt senior Jordan Mitchell might have had his best performance wearing the colors on Saturday. Mitchell finished with 19 points and 14 rebounds, both of which were career watermarks. If that wasn't enough, he also stuffed the stat sheet to the beat of six assists, three more blocks and a steal. Mitchell literally did it all on Saturday and was so important in every aspect of the game. Mitchell has four double-digit scoring games on the season. The conference's leading shot blocker also has a block in every game this season, as well.

·   LANDON'S CALLING. A big reason why the Golden Eagles were able to pull off the near upset of No. 23 Tampa was their ability to jump out to a fast start. Part of that fast start was the play of freshman Landon Dimler. After playing just eight minutes in the Friday loss to Eckerd College, Dimler played a career high 32 minutes and also finished with nine points in the game, also a career-high. Dimler made three threes, all in the first half, which was also a career-high. Dimler has a ton of potential and those career watermarks should change in the blink of an eye.

• MICAH MANIA. Micah Garrett seems to have his groove back on the offensive end of the court. Garrett opened his Golden Eagle career with back-to-back double-digit scoring games, but then went three games where he averaged 5.3 points per game. Garrett now has two straight games with double-digit scoring games, including 14 points against Eckerd, tying a career-high. Garrett scored 10 points against Tampa and also buried four three's in two games this past weekend, which is also a good sign for the maroon and gold, as they head into the heart of the NSIC season.

Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles
Head Coach: Bryan Beamish
Record at UMC: 9-54 Season at UMC: 11th Season (Third as Head Coach)

Bemidji State Beavers
Head Coach: Mike Boschee
Record at BSU: 138-162 Season at BSU: 12th Season

St. Cloud State Huskies
Head Coach: Quincy Henderson
Record at SCSU: 26-39  Season at SCSU: 3rd Season

Bemidji State @ Minnesota Crookston
Date: Friday, Dec. 6
Time: 7:30 P.M.
Place: Crookston, Minn. / Lysaker Gymnasium
Watch: https://nsicnetwork.com/goldeneaglesports/
Stats: https://goldeneaglesports.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Series Record: BSU leads 38-11
Last Meeting: 80-62 win for the Beavers in Crookston last February


St. Cloud State @ Minnesota Crookston
Date: Saturday, Dec. 7
Time: 5:30 P.M.
Place: Crookston, Minn. / Lysaker Gymnasium
Watch: https://nsicnetwork.com/goldeneaglesports/
Stats: https://goldeneaglesports.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Series Record: 34-4 in favor of the Huskies
Last Meeting: 77-68 win for the Huskies in Crookston

Weekly Snapshot

Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles (1-6)
Projected Starters
Sr. G 3 Reid Grant (6-3, Johnston, Iowa) 13.4 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 5.7 APG
R-So. G 5 Chandler Meeks (6-1, Omaha, Neb.) 11.7 PPG, 2.0 RPG
R-Sr. F 2 Aguek Deng (6-9, Des Moines, Iowa) 2.3 PPG,  6.5 RPG
Jr. G 13 Micah Garrett (6-3, Portland, Ore.) 9.7 PPG, 3.1 RPG
R-Sr. F 10 Jordan Mitchell (6-8, Columbus, Ohio) 8.7 PPG, 7.6 RPG,
Top Bench Players
Jr. F 25 Andrew Stokes (6-5, Westchester, Ill.) 8.4PPG, 3.7 RPG
Sr. F 33 Ben Hoverson (6-6, Grand Forks, N.D.) 3.3PPG, 1.0 RPG
Jr. G 1 Christian Bowen-Webb (6-2, Atchison, Kan.) 4.7 PPG
Fr. F 23 Brayden Carlson (6-9, Woodbury, Minn.) 1.2 PPG, 1.0 RPG
Fr. G 12 Landon Dimler (6-5, Mankato, Minn.) 3.8 PPG, 3.2 RPG
Fr. G 11 Caiden Swenby (6-3, Fertile, Minn.) 1.0 PPG
Bemidji State Beavers (3-3)
Projected Starters
Jr. G 1 Peyton Newburn (6-4, Robbinsdale, Minn.) 7.7 PPG, 5.0 RPG
Jr. G 2 Tate Olson (6-6, New York Mills, Minn.) 11.0 PPG, 8.7 RPG
Jr. G 4 Brayden Williams (6-2, Owatonna, Minn.) 4.5 PPG. 2.8 RPG
Gr. G 10 Christian Koonce (6-5, Charlotte, N.C.) 8.8 PPG, 3.3 RPG
Sr. G 24 Daxton Dayley (6-5, St. George, Utah) 4.0 PPG, 2.7 RPG
Top Bench Players
Sr. G 14 Jalen Patterson (6-1, Galt, Calif.) 5.3 PPG, 1.7 RPG
Jr. G 21 Jareon Mayo (6-4, Lima, Ohio) 5.0 PPG, 2.0 RPG
So. G 11 John Pecarich (6-3, Baxter, Minn.) 9.2 PPG, 1.2 RPG
So. F 30 Austin Josephson (6-9, Meadowlands, Minn.) 3.5 PPG, 3.0 RPG
St. Cloud State Huskies (4-4)
Projected Starters
So. G 1 Anish Ramlall (6-2, Rosemount, Minn.) 6.0 PPG, 2.3 RPG
So. G 10 Nate Dahl (5-11, Buffalo, Minn.) 12.5 PPG, 3.6 RPG
So. G 32 Wyatt Hawks (6-7, White Bear Lake, Minn.) 10.4 PPG, 7.8 RPG
So. G 34 Lucas Morgan (6-4, Sydney, Australia) 9.9 PPG, 4.0 RPG
Fr. G 44 Kynan Philippe (6-5, Melbourne, Australia) 8.8 PPG, 4.6 RPG
Top Bench Players
R-Fr. G 3 Nathan Bunkosky (Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida) 2.3 PPG, 1.6 RPG
Fr. G 4 Lee Marks III (6-5, Chicago, Ill.) 4.1 PPG, 2.6 RPG
Fr. G 12 Luke Winkel (5-11, Ankeny, Iowa) 7.3 PPG, 1.9 RPG
So. G 20 Vance Peiffer (6-7, Waukee, Iowa) 10.0 PPG, 2.5 RPG

KNOW THE OPPONENTS

Bemidji State. The Beavers will make the short trek to Crookston looking to snap a biref two game losing streak. Much like the Golden Eagles, their recent trip to Florida was anything but sunny, as the Beavers fell to Barry by three and then lost to Lynn University by 41 over a week ago. The Beavers have been without two-time All-NSIC First Team performer John Sutherland for the entire season.

STRUGGLES FROM DEEP. In their trip to Florida, the Beavers had a tough time finding the mark from long range. In their three point loss to Barry University, the Beavers were just 6-28 from long range and then followed that up with a 5-28 performance from long range. BSU has shot 34 percent from long range on the season, but 19 percent from three will make it tough to win in the NSIC. The Beavers will look to find the target from deep this Friday.

NEW YORK (MILLS) MADE.  Through six games, Tate Olson has seemingly made one of the biggest jumps offensively for the Beavers. Olson is second on the Beavers in scoring with 11.0 points per game, although he hasn't scored in double-figures in three games, after scoring double-figures in his teams first three games. The Beavers will look to Olson for some scoring this weekend.

CONTROLLED THE HIGHWAY.  Recently, Bemidji State has controlled the rivalry of Highway-2. Bemidji State has won five straight in the series and has won seven of the ten games dating back to 2018-19. The last loss for the Beavers in the series did come in Crookston, back in 2021.

St. Cloud State. Much like the Golden Eagles, St. Cloud State has played an extremely difficult non-conference schedule adn do have a win over a ranked opponent this season, as they knocked off Upper Iowa by a point. SCSU is 4-4 and will play Minot State on Friday night before they head to Crookston on Saturday.

HAWKEYE. The Huskies are an extremely dangerous offensive team and can beat you in a number of different ways. One of the ways they can beat you is by getting the ball into the hands of sophomore Wyatt Hawks. The sophomore from White Bear Lake, Minn., won his first NSIC Player of the Week award earlier this season and is currently averaging 10.4 points per game and more than seven boards per game. Hawks does it the old-fashioned way as well, as he has not attempted a three-point shot on the season.

POINTS AT THE STRIPE. Something to watch on Saturday will be the free throw line. SCSU has shot 187 free throws in eight games and are averaging 27 free throws per game, compared to just 13 attempts per game for the maroon and gold. Will the Huskies continue to get to the free throw line this weekend?

DOMINANT STRETCH. SCSU has dominated the last 11 games in the series with the Golden Eagles. There have been a number of close games in that stretch, but the Huskies have made enough plays for the 11 game winning streak in the series. The last loss to the Golden Eagles was a 19-point loss in January of 2019, which came inside Lysaker Gymnasium.