Crookston, Minn. – Matthew Willert scored 31 points and buried eight threes as the Huskies of St. Cloud State used a large first half lead to propel the Huskies to a 77-68 win and sweep the season series with the Golden Eagles.
 
Minnesota Crookston falls to 6-16 (3-13 NSIC).
 
Blaize Sagna (Jr., G, London, England) would bury a pair of threes in the opening two and a half minutes as the Golden Eagles would take a 6-5 lead.
 
SCSU would take a 19-9 lead, but De'Antray Hughes (R-Sr., F, New Orleans, La.) would finish a layup to cut the Huskies lead to 19-11.
 
SCSU would go on an 8-0 run to take a 27-11 lead, but Jordan Mitchell (R-Jr., F, Columbus, Ohio) would end the run with a layup.
 
St. Cloud State would stay hot in the first half and take a 37-17 lead, but back-to-back buckets by Isaiah Bundy-Smith (So., F, Rugby, N.D.) and Aguek Deng (Jr., F, Des Moines, Iowa) would cut the Golden Eagle deficit to 16.
 
A Hughes layup with one second left in the half would make it a 42-24 game in favor of the Huskies heading into the halftime break.
 
The second half would see the Golden Eagles come out with a ton of energy.
 
Minnesota Crookston would trail 46-28, but Reid Grant (Jr., G, Johnston, Iowa) would score five straight points and Deng would finish a layup in the paint to cut the lead to 11.
 
From that point, SCSU would score the next five and stretch the lead back to 15, but the Golden Eagles wouldn't go away. In fact, they would make it a game with a 9-0 run, highlighted by a three from Grant and four points from Sagna in that stretch would make it a 50-44 lead for the Huskies with 11:18 remaining in the game.
 
That would be as close as the Golden Eagles would get.
 
SCSU would take a lead as big as 19 late in the game, but a Myles Adams (Fr., F, Rosemount, Minn.) dunk on a steal would make it a seven point game with less than 30 seconds left.
 
SCSU would make free throws down the stretch to earn the hard fought victory, 77-68.
 
Sagna finished with 25 points and three rebounds. Grant added 16 points and four assists, while Deng finished with a double-double, adding 11 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks. It's the third double-double of Deng's career.
 
What's Next
The Golden Eagles will be back at home after a week off as the Bemidji State Beavers make the short trek to Crookston. Tip-off is set for 7:30 P.M., next Thursday night.