Men's Basketball | 1/28/2025 9:58:00 AM

#TIDBITS

Golden Eagle men's basketball is back at home on Wednesday against nationally-ranked Minot State before heading to the state capital of North Dakota for a massive game with the University of Mary on Saturday afternoon. The Golden Eagles played their best overall weekend of the season last weekend against Wayne State College and Augustana. The Golden Eagles played a solid 85 minutes and earned their first overtime win in four tries on the season over Augustana, which could turn out to be a massive win down the stretch. The Golden Eagles will look to continue that strong play versus their eight opponent this season that is or has been ranked in the top-10 of the central region.

·   NAIL BITING FIVE MINUTES. It's almost hard to believe, but the Golden Eagles have played in a whopping four overtimes  already this season and gritted themselves to a gutsy, thrilling and massive win on Saturday against Augustana, outscoring the Vikings by three to earn the win. We're not even into February yet, but the Golden Eagles have already played in a school record four overtimes this season. The Golden Eagles might see those games be beneficial down the stretch.

• GRAVITY DEFYING. If anyone was able to see the play of Aguek Deng to seal the game against Augustana, your jaw still might be on the floor, like mine is. Augustana's Tanner Te Slaa thought he had a clean look to tie the game up in overtime, but the Golden Eagle senior flew through the air to swat the shot and help his team pick up the win over the Vikings. A bird, a plane, Michael Jordan, Superman? Nope, it was the senior from Des Moines.

·  DEFEND, DEFEND AND THEN DEFEND SOME MORE. This weekend for the Golden Eagles started on the defensive side of the ball. They were able to get a ton of stops on the defensive end, holding both the Wildcats and Vikings to sub-43 percent shooting from the field and sub-30 from long range. It's the third different occasion they have done that in back-to-back games this season. In their past four games, the Golden Eagles have done a good job of limiting three point attempts, as their opponents have shot just 72 attempts from long range in that stretch.

·   THE QUARTERBACK, RG3.  Not to be mistaken with the former Baylor Heisman Trophy winner, Reid Grant, the Golden Eagles version of RG3 was nothing short of fantastic this weekend. The senior from Johnston, Iowa averaged 29 points per game, four rebounds per game and scored a career-high 35 in the loss to Wayne State College on Friday. Grant was exceptional this past weekend and made a very good case to be on the 'Shining 5' in the Northern Sun, but nonetheless, he will look to put up another pair of noticeable performances this weekend.

·    DIAPER DANDY! In the words of the great Dick Vitale, Andrew Stokes made a case to be a PTPer, a diaper dandy and the big man on campus all in one this past weekend. Whatever Vitalism you think is worthy, Stokes deserves it. Quite frankly, the Golden Eagles needed every bit of Stokes' performance on Saturday, where he finished with his first career double-double, finishing with 16 points and 11 rebounds, while scoring a huge four points in the overtime period. Stokes has been fantastic as of late, averaging 13 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in his last three games.

·   IMPACT IT, B. Speaking of impacts, we'd be remiss if we didn't talk about freshman Brayden Carlson. The outstanding freshman showed how impactful he can be on both ends of the floor. Carlson scored four points and pulled down a career-high six rebounds in the win against Augustana and made everything tough around the rim for the Vikings in his 11 minutes. Carlson might have an even larger impact this Wednesday as Caleb Van de Griend of Minot State makes his way to Crookston. Van de Griend has been one of the best players in the nation and leads the entire nation with 18 double-doubles on the year.

• BIG BUCKETS. The Golden Eagles got some big buckets on Saturday from guys other than Grant, propelling them to the win. Jordan Mitchell, who finished with 11 second half points and Micah Garrett, who had his third straight game in double-figures were both fantastic down the stretch and did it when they needed it most. Garrett was 4-4 at the charity stripe in the game, not missing a free throw since Dec. 6. Mitchell was as clutch as can be, as he buried a pair of free throws with less than 15 seconds left in that win over the Vikings.


Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles
Head Coach: Bryan Beamish
Record at UMC: 12-64 Season at UMC: 11th Season (Third as Head Coach)

Minot State University Beavers
Head Coach: Matt Murken
Record at MISU: 199-173  Season at MISU: 13th Season 

University of Mary Marauders
Head Coach: Jack Nelson
Record at UMARY: 34-71  Season at UMARY: 4th Season

No. 18/22 Minot State @ Minnesota Crookston
Date: Wednesday, Jan. 28
Time: 5:30 P.M.
Place: Crookston, Minn. / Lysaker Gymnasium
Watch: https://nsicnetwork.com/goldeneaglesports/
Stats: https://goldeneaglesports.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Series Record: Minot State leads 22-3
Last Meeting: Minot State defeated the Golden Eagles, 83-52, earlier this year in Minot

Minnesota Crookston @ University of Mary
Date: Saturday, Feb. 1
Time: 3:30 P.M.
Place: Bismarck, N.D. / McDowell Activity Center
Watch: https://nsicnetwork.com/goumary/
Stats: https://goumary.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Series Record: UMary leads the all-time series 25-10
Last Meeting: It was an 11 point win for the Marauders earlier this year in Crookston

Weekly Snapshot

Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles (3-13)
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
Minot State Beavers (20-3)
Projected Starters
Jr. F 4 Sam West (6-5, Shakopee, Minn.) 10.0 PPG, 6.0 RPG
Jr. G 20 Ayouba Berthe (6-4, Brooklyn Park, Minn.) 12.7 PPG, 3.8 RPG
Sr. G 21 Jalen Cook (6-5, Brooklyn Center, Minn.) 14.7 PPG, 3.3 RPG
Sr. G 24 Jaxon Gunville (6-0, Minot, N.D.) 12.2 PPG, 1.8 RPG
Jr. F 50 Caleb Van De Griend (6-8, Bridgetown, Australia) 19.4 PPG, 13.3 PRG
Top Bench Players
R-So. F 00 Jayden Wysocki (6-7, Rochester, Minn.) 3.8 PPG, 2.4 RPG
Gr. G 2 Daryl Rice, Jr. (5-9, Tyrone, Ga.) 1.9 PPG, 1.1 RPG
R-So. G 11 Trey Brandt (6-1, Beulah, N.D.) 3.5 PPG, 1.2 RPG
R-Jr. F 12 Dylan Gichaba (6-6, Brooklyn Park, Minn.) 2.3 PPG, 1.9 RPG
University of Mary Marauders (4-19)
Projected Starters
Gr. G 2 Kevin McGaskey (6-0, Missouri City, Texas) 10.8 PPG, 2.2 RPG
R-So. G 4 Jeremiah Jones (6-3, South Holland, Ill.) 11.8 PPG, 5.9 RPG
So. G 11 Alex Mattes (6-3, Woodbury, Minn.) 6.6 PPG, 1.6 RPG
Jr. G 14 Ty Rogers (6-7, Aurora, Ill.) 10.7 PPG, 3.7 RPG
Jr. F 23 Xavier Lewis (6-6, Lynwood, Ill.) 6.6 PPG, 4.1 RPG
Top Bench Players
Jr. G 13 Gunner Swanson (6-5, Bismarck, N.D.) 4.6 PPG, 2.3 RPG
Sr. F 10 Rich Ashu (6-8, London, England) 4.7 PPG, 3.6 RPG
Jr. G/F 22 Ty Johnson (6-6, Chicago, Ill.) 1.7 PPG, 2.7 RPG

KNOW THE OPPONENTS

Minot State. The Golden Eagles are gearing up to face the Minot State Beavers this Wednesday. Earlier this season, they took on the Beavers but came up short with a 83-52  loss. Historically, Minot has been a challenging opponent for the Eagles, who hold a 5-35 record in this matchup.

REASON THEY'RE RANKED. Minot State's offense is among the best in the nation. They're averaging an impressive 81.6 points per game, shooting 48% from the field, and knocking down nearly 10 three-pointers per game at 37.7%. These stats show why the Beavers are such a tough team to beat.

HEADED WEST. The last time the Golden Eagles faced Minot State, Sam West had a breakout performance. He scored a season and career-high 21 points, making nine field goals. West usually averages 10 points per game but will be looking to make his mark again in this week's rematch.  

ONE OF THE NATION'S BEST. Caleb Van De Griend had an incredible weekend, earning NSIC Player of the Week honors. He averaged 21.5 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in back-to-back wins over Concordia-St. Paul and Minnesota Duluth. Van De Griend was efficient, shooting 65% from the field and a near-perfect 16-of-17 from the free-throw line. He also recorded his 18th double-double of the season against Duluth, setting a new single-season rebound record for Minot State with 303. This marks the third time he's been named Player of the Week, and he currently ranks second in the conference and fourth nationally in field goal percentage.

University of Mary. The Golden Eagles are set to take on the University of Mary Marauders later this week. Historically, the Golden Eagles have struggled against UMary, holding a 10-25 record in their matchups. In their most recent meeting earlier this season, the Marauders secured an 86-75 victory. This weekend, the Eagles are eager to break their four-game losing streak against UMary and build momentum moving forward.

GOING FOR THE SWEEP. In their last match-up with the Golden Eagles, the Marauders delivered an impressive offensive performance, shooting 58.5% from the field and 57.1% from three-point range. Key players Kevin McGaskey, Jeremiah Jones, and Ty Rogers led the charge, scoring 18, 16, and 15 points, respectively. These three have been consistent contributors all season, each averaging close to 10 points per game.

JJ THE THIEF. Jeremiah Jones made headlines in UMary's recent game against the University of Sioux Falls, setting a new NCAA-era program record with eight steals. Jones currently ranks second in the nation with 59 steals on the season, averaging an impressive 2.57 steals per game. His defensive efforts are going to be a factor in this weekend's matchup.

OPPORTUNITIES AWAIT. The Marauders rank at the bottom of the conference in all scoring and rebounding categories, meaning they'll need a more efficient and aggressive approach to pull off a win. For the Golden Eagles, this presents a key opportunity to secure a win.