Men's Basketball | 1/22/2025 2:13:00 PM

#TIDBITS

Golden Eagle men's basketball is back home this weekend, after a short four game road trip, for a pair of NSIC matchups against Wayne State College and Augustana University. Following this weekend, Minnesota Crookston will host Minot State, Wednesday night, for a midweek contest.


·   WELCOME BACK AD. Last weekend, Aguek Deng returned to the rotation for the Golden Eagles. The Redshirt Senior saw 22 minutes Friday night, picking up 9 points while also blocking a couple shots on the defensive end of the floor. Look for Aguek to continue to make an impact on both ends of the floor this weekend.

·  CAREER NIGHT FOR THE FORMER FALCON. Caiden Swenby scored a career high 12 points on Saturday against the University of Minnesota Duluth, the Freshman from Fertile, Minn., also picked up 3 steals on the defensive end. The former Fertile-Beltrami star has started to adjust to the speed of the game and has been earning more and more minutes from Bryan Beamish. The Golden Eagles have to be thrilled for the future of the local product.

·  SEND IT BACK, BIG FELLA. The Golden Eagles rank in the top third in the conference in blocked shots per game with just under 3.5 a game. Jordan Mitchell leads the Golden Eagles with 27 blocked shots this year. Look for the Golden Eagles to continue to protect the paint this weekend.

·   EFFICIENCY ALL THE WAY AROUND.  Forward Andrew Stokes has been very efficient from the field this year. The Junior from Westchester, Ill. is shooting 50.8% from the field and is ninth in the conference from the free throw line at 80.4%. The Golden Eagles will look for Stokes to continue his efficiency going forward.

·    NSIC EXPERIENCE. Freshman Landon Dimler has earned starts the past few weekends and that's a testament to the Mankato native and how hard he has worked this season and the impact he makes. This season, Dimler has three double-digit scoring games, all of which have come in conference play, including 10 this past weekend at Minnesota Duluth. The Golden Eagles love what they have in the freshman class and Dimler is a big part of that. Him playing a ton of minutes and starting in one of the best conferences in the nation will only help Dimler in what we can only hope is a fantastic career as a Golden Eagle.

·   WELCOME BACK ALUMNI. Also this weekend, the Golden Eagles are celebrating Alumni Weekend, with Alumni Day being Saturday afternoon. The Golden Eagles are expecting the return of a few key players from their 2018-19 season. Head Coach Bryan Beamish was an assistant coach at the time for the Golden Eagles helping lead that team to 17 wins and a program record 9 wins in the conference.

·    IT'S A SLAM DUNK, DON'T DRIVE DRUNK. Friday night, the Golden Eagles will hold their 13th annual "It's A Slam Dunk, Don't Drive Drunk" campaign.  Started in 2013, the campaign commemorates Drake Bigler, the five-month old son of Southwest Minnesota State University Men's Basketball Head Coach Brad Bigler, who was killed by a drunk driver.


Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles
Head Coach: Bryan Beamish
Record at UMC: 11-63 Season at UMC: 11th Season (Third as Head Coach)

Wayne State College Wildcats
Head Coach:Jeff Kaminsky
Record at WSC: 125-119  Season at WSC: 9th Season 

Augustana Vikings
Head Coach: Cody Schilling
Record at AU: 9-9  Season at AU: 1st Season

Wayne State College @ Minnesota Crookston
Date: Friday, Jan. 24
Time: 5:30 P.M.
Place: Crookston, Minn. / Lysaker Gymnasium
Watch: https://nsicnetwork.com/goldeneaglesports/
Stats: https://goldeneaglesports.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Series Record: WSC leads 27-9
Last Meeting: 74-59 win for the Wildcats in Wayne last year

Augustana @ Minnesota Crookston
Date: Saturday, Jan. 25
Time: 3:30 P.M.
Place: Crookston, Minn. / Lysaker Gymnasium
Watch: https://nsicnetwork.com/goldeneaglesports/
Stats: https://goldeneaglesports.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Series Record: Augustana leads all-time series 27-3
Last Meeting: 93-73 win for the Vikings in Sioux Falls

Weekly Snapshot

Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles (3-15)
Projected Starters
Sr. G 3 Reid Grant (6-3, Johnston, Iowa) 14.2 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 5.1 APG
Fr. G 12 Landon Dimler (6-5, Mankato, Minn.) 4.8 PPG, 3.5 RPG
Jr. F 25 Andrew Stokes (6-5, Westchester, Ill.) 9.5 PPG, 3.8 RPG
Jr. G 13 Micah Garrett (6-3, Portland, Ore.) 9.9 PPG, 3.3 RPG
R-Jr. F 10 Jordan Mitchell (6-8, Columbus, Ohio) 8.3 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 1.6 BPG
Top Bench Players
Sr. F 33 Ben Hoverson (6-6, Grand Forks, N.D.) 2.5 PPG, .9 RPG
Jr. G 1 Christian Bowen-Webb (6-2, Atchison, Kan.) 6.2 PPG
Fr. F 23 Brayden Carlson (6-9, Woodbury, Minn.) 2.0 PPG, 1.2 RPG
Fr. G 11 Caiden Swenby (6-3, Fertile, Minn.) 1.7 PPG
R-Sr. F 2 Aguek Deng (6-9, Des Moines, Iowa) 2.9 PPG, 5.8 RPG
Jr. G 24 GD Deng (6-4, Des Moines, Iowa) 1.2 PPG, 1.7 RPG
Wayne State College (11-7)
Projected Starters
Sr. G 2 Sean Stokes (6-4, Bensalem, Pa.) 6.2 PPG, 2.7 RPG
Sr. G 3 JJ Ferrin (6-3, Omaha, Neb.) 11.7 PPG, 2.2 RPG
Sr. G 12 Jay Saunders (5-11, Omaha, Neb.) 8.4 PPG, 3.6 RPG
Fr. F 23 Matt Noll (6-7, Sioux City, Iowa) 13.9 PPG, 4.4 RPG
Sr. F 35 Cody McCullough (6-8, Ankeny, Iowa) 11.1 PPG, 6.4 RPG
Top Bench Players
Sr. F 25 Noah Erickson (6-6, Omaha, Neb.) 4.2 PPG, 2.7 RPG
Jr. G 13 Kai Smith (6-1, Los Angeles, Calif.) 8.8 PPG, 2.1 RPG
So. G 6 Landon Classen (6-3, O'Neill, Neb.) 3.4 PPG, 1.3 RPG
Jr. G 4 Ryan Blum (6-4, Glenwood, Iowa) 2.9 PPG, 2.2 RPG
Augustana Vikings (9-9)
Projected Starters
Jr. G 1 Tanner Te Slaa (6-5, Hull, Iowa) 14.8 PPG, 6.1 RPG
Fr. G 2 Tameron Ferguson (6-2, St. Cloud, Minn.) 9.3 PPG, 3.7 RPG
Sr. G 3 Akoi Akoi (6-6, Sioux Falls, S.D.) 13.4 PPG, 4.5 RPG
Jr. G 23 Sam Rensch (6-5, Hutchinson, Minn.) 11.4 PPG, 4.3 RPG
R-Fr. F 30 Bennett Fried (6-7, La Crosse, Wis.) 8.2 PPG, 5.0 RPG
Top Bench Players
So. G 5 Kelton Coleman (6-2, Fort Worth, Texas) 6.6 PPG, 1.2 RPG
So. G 25 Jack Hastreiter (6-7, Lincoln, Neb.) 3.5 PPG, 1.5 RPG
Jr. G 10 Malyk Rebetez (6-3, Lausanne, Switzerland) 2.0 PPG, 1.6 RPG


KNOW THE OPPONENTS

Wayne State College. Following a series of challenging away games, The Golden Eagles return home to face the Wayne State Wildcats at home this Friday. The Wildcats are 11-7 on the season and are ranked 11th in the competitive NSIC. The Golden Eagles look to capitalize on the home court advantage this weekend.

WINNING WAYS. The Wildcats enter this weekend with a three-game win streak, highlighting an impressive win over Minot State, one of the top teams in the conference. In that game, Wayne shot 48.3% from the field (28-58) and an impressive 43.5% (10-23) from the three-point line. They will aim to continue this hot shooting in the match-up this weekend.

KOBRA KAI. Junior guard Kai Smith was key in the Wildcats win over Minot. Coming off the bench, Smith had a standout performance, recording a career-high 25 points. He was incredibly efficient. Smith was 11-15 from the field and 3-4 beyond the arc. His remarkable outing fueled the Wildcats success.  

THE PHENOM. One player that has been consistent all season for the Wildcats is Freshman Forward, Matt Noll. Noll is averaging 13.9 points per game, Noll leads his team in scoring. The freshman has showcased remarkable efficiency, shooting 55.6% from the field (100-180) and 40.7% (11-27) from the three. Noll was also a key factor in the Wildcat's wins these past weekends.

Augustana.The Golden Eagles will wrap up the weekend with a matchup against the Augustana Vikings. The Vikings are sitting at 9-9 on the season but have recently found their stride with six wins in their last seven games. Minot State defeated the Vikings by five last Saturday to end their six game winning streak.

HEATING UP. The Vikings are currently sitting at .500 on the year, however, they are finding their rhythm with 6 of their losses coming early on in the year. Before their 5-point loss against Minot State, the Vikings had won 6 consecutive conference games. Key contributors have been Tanner Te Slaa and Aiko Aiko. The team's improved defense has helped them gain momentum as they are 4th in the conference averaging 7.22 steals per game. The Vikings have recorded 3 games with more than 10 steals.

TANNER IS TIMELY. Junior guard Tanner Te Slaa paces the Vikings offense. Averaging 14.8 points per game and 2.3 assists, Te Slaa has been consistent. He recently had a career game against a top-ranked team, Minot State. Te Slaa scored a career-high 24 points and set a personal best with 7 field goals made.

A OKAY. Akoi Akoi has been a leader for the Vikings since his first season in 2021. Throughout his career, Akoi has averaged 8 points per game, but he is having his best year yet averaging 13.4 points per game. Akoi's consistent play has propelled the Vikings toward success.