Men's Basketball | 11/27/2025 11:27:00 AM

#TIDBITS

Golden Eagle men's basketball will be back on the road this weekend and will be thankful they get to play some basketball. The Golden Eagles will finish November with two more non-conference games on the road at Upper Iowa on Friday and St. Cloud State on Saturday. Two familiar foes and hopefully two wins for the maroon and gold.

·   GOOD TO SEE (U)IU AGAIN. Minnesota Crookston will play three very familiar foes this weekend for three games. One of those familiar foes is Upper Iowa. The Golden Eagles will return to Fayette this Friday after a three year hiatus. The Peacocks and Golden Eagles used to be NSIC foes and now the Golden Eagles and Peacocks will meet in non-conference play. It's a return game in a home-and-home between the two programs, as the Peacocks overcame a 17 point halftime deficit to stun the Golden Eagles a season ago in Crookston.

• HAVE TO LIKE THE OFFENSE. It's very, very early in the season and numbers are going to be skewed a bit for the Golden Eagles and their record-setting win over Oak Hills Christian last Wednesday. However, coach Beamish has to like what he sees from his teams' offense and their weapons. The Golden Eagles are averaging nearly 78 points per game on the year and have scored 70 points or more in two straight games. The Golden Eagles feel like they can score with the best of them this season.

·  ANOTHER OPPONENT WITH A FRESH START. Minnesota Crookston will play their second straight opponent with a new coach on Black Friday afternoon. Upper Iowa is led by Casey Kasperbauer, who is in his first season at the helm after spending four seasons at his alma mater, South Dakota, where he finished his playing career as a 1,000 point scorer for the Coyotes. Minnesota Crookston might not know fully what to expect from a team that was led by Brooks McKowen for 12 seasons.

·   PIECES TO THE PUZZLE.  Minnesota Crookston feels like they have all the pieces to compete and make some noise in the Northern Sun. With nine new pieces to the puzzle, it might take some time to complete the puzzle, but when and if they do, it could be a dangerous team in the maroon and gold. The Golden Eagles added a nice compliment of freshmen, JUCO transfers and NCAA transfers. Now, it's just about how long it takes for the pieces to all fit together.

·    NO PROBLEMS WITH NEZ. In a game where the Golden Eagles never even led on Tuesday night against MSU Moorhead, they did have a pretty positive bright spot on offense. In fact, he's been as advertised on offense all year. Lindsey finished the game against MSUM with a career-high in points (25), field goals made (9), three-point makes (4), rebounds (5) and minutes played (34). Lindsey has been everything the Golden Eagles have needed at the point guard position and he shows growth every game.

·   GOTTA FIGURE OUT THE FIRST FIVE. In their first three Division II opponents this season, the one alarming trend that has haunted the Golden Eagles have been fast starts by their opponents. The Golden Eagles are 0-3 against D-II opponents this season and they could look to the first ten minutes as to why. In each of those games, their opponents have scored 20 before the Golden Eagles have scored 10, which is a recipe for a loss. The early holes have been too much for the Golden Eagles this season, so changing that ASAP needs to be near the top of the list.

• BECOMING THE HUNTER. Lindsey's backcourt partner, Hunter Lorenson, has seen a growth in his game as well this season. In his last three games, the sophomore is averaging nearly 10 PPG and 6 RPG, while also dishing out 10 assists in those three games. Lorenson has seen his role grow early on in the season and that will look to continue this weekend as the Golden Eagles gear up for NSIC play.

• REBOUND, REBOUND, REBOUND. The big difference in the game at MSU Moorhead was the ability by the Dragons to rebound the basketball. MSUM outrebounded the Golden Eagles 52-34, including a whopping 17 offensive rebounds, which led to 19 second chance points, compared to just nine for the Golden Eagles. Minnesota Crookston has to rebound the basketball better and if they do, it should lead to wins for the young and talented maroon and gold.

Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles
Head Coach: Bryan Beamish
Record at UMC: 15-71 Season at UMC: 12th Season (Fourth as Head Coach)

Upper Iowa Peacocks
Head Coach: Casey Kasperbauer
Record at UIU: 3-1  Season at UIU: 1st Season 

St. Cloud State Huskies
Head Coach: Quincy Henderson
Record at SCSU: 44-50  Season at SCSU: 4th Season

Minnesota Crookston @ Upper Iowa
Date: Friday, Nov. 28
Time: 1:00 P.M.
Place: Fayette, Iowa / Dorman Gymnasium
Watch: https://glvcsn.com/uiuglvc/
Stats: https://uiupeacocks.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Series Record: UIU leads the all-time series, 13-3
Last Meeting: 75-65 win for the Peacocks last year after trailing by 17 at half

Minnesota Crookston @ St. Cloud State
Date: Saturday, Nov. 29
Time: 1:00 P.M.
Place: St. Cloud, Minn. / Halenbeck Hall
Watch: https://nsicnetwork.com/
Stats: https://scsuhuskies.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Series Record: SCSU leads 35-4 all-time
Last Meeting: A 92-87 win in overtime last season for the Huskies

Weekly Snapshot

Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles
Projected Starters
Fr. F 1 Spencer Swenson (6-8, Sauk Rapids, Minn.) 5.3 PPG, 4.0 RPG
Jr. F 10 Kazadi Mukoma, Jr. (6-8, Grand Island, Neb.) 11.8 PPG, 5.3 RPG
Fr. G 2 Donez Lindsey (6-0, Stockton, Calif.) 15.8 PPG, 3.8 RPG
R-Jr. G 15 Alijah Washington (6-4, San Bernardino, Calif.) 14.3 PPG, 2.7 RPG
So. G 20 Hunter Lorenson (5-11, Lake City, Minn.) 7.8 PPG, 5.0 RPG
Top Bench Players
Sr. G 3 GD Deng (6-4, Des Moines, Iowa) .8 PPG, 2.0 RPG
Fr. G 11 Caiden Swenby (6-3, Fertile, Minn.) 4.5 PPG, 1.3 RPG
Jr. G/F 21 J.D. Roberts (6-6, Parkville, Mo.) 4.3 PPG, 4.3 RPG
Fr. F 23 Brayden Carlson (6-9, Woodbury, Minn.) 3.8 PPG, 1.8 RPG
Fr. G 13 Quincy Everson (6-2, Goodyear, Minn.) 5.3 PPG, 2.8 RPG
Fr. G 12 Landon Dimler (6-5, Mankato, Minn.) 3.8 PPG, 7.3 RPG
 
Upper Iowa
Projected Starters
So. G 0 Jack Miller (6-0, Jesup, Iowa) 7.3 PPG, 2.8 RPG
Sr. G 3 Trey Lewis (6-0, Johnston, Iowa) 13.0 PPG, 3.3 RPG
R-Jr. F 4 Kyle Hrncir (6-5, Farmington, Minn.) 18.3 PPG, 10.3 RPG
Fr. F 6 Cael Reichter (6-8, Hawkeye, Iowa) 5.0 PPG, 3.3 RPG
R-Fr. G 10 Eric Kenesie (6-1, Kenosha, Wis.) 3.8 PPG, 1.5 RPG
Top Bench Players
Jr. G 2 Tate Peterson (6-1, Monticello, Minn.) 12.0 PPG, 1.5 RPG
R-Jr. F 12 Zach Erwin (6-6, Camanche, Iowa) 4.0 PPG, 3.3 RPG
Sr. G 22 Austin Hilmer (5-10, Walker, Iowa) 4.5 PPG, .5 RPG
So. G 24 Ty Pflughaupt (6-6, Walker, Iowa) 9.3 PPG, 1.3 RPG
St. Cloud State
Jr. G 1 Anish Ramlall (6-2, Rosemount, Minn.) 7.0 PPG, 1.5 RPG
So. G 4 Lee Marks III (6-5, Chicago, Ill.) 10.5 PPG, 6.8 RPG
Jr. G 10 Nate Dahl (5-11, Buffalo, Minn.) 4.5 PPG, 8.0 RPG
So. G 12 Luke Winkel (5-11, Ankeny, Iowa) 17.0 PPG, 2.8 RPG
Jr. G 32 Wyatt Hawks (6-7, White Bear Lake, Minn.) 11.8 PPG, 8.5 RPG
Top Bench Players
Fr. G 34 Azayah Washington (6-2, St. Cloud, Minn.) 5.5 PPG, 1.8 RPG
So. G 44 Kynan Philippe (6-5, Melbourne, Australia) 5.5 PPG, 4.0 RPG


KNOW THE OPPONENTS

Upper Iowa. The Peacocks will be a familiar foe for the maroon and gold on Black Friday. The Peacocks, who have turned into one of the better programs in the midwest, are off to another great start this season, sitting at 3-1 on the season and are coming off a six point win last Saturday against Purdue-Northwest. The Peacocks defeated the Golden Eagles last season after overcoming a double-digit halftime deficit.

TALE OF TWO HALVES. In last year's win over the Golden Eagles a season ago, UIU showed why a game is 40 minutes long. In the first half of that game, UIU was just 9-36 from the field in the first half and 1-14 from long range in Crookston. Coming out of halftime, the Peacocks outscored the Golden Eagles by 27 and shot 57 percent in the second half.

ON THE FARM. Kyle Hrncir is one of those players that can do it all. The redshirt junior from Farmington, Minn., is off to an amazing start to his 2025-26 season. Hrncir is averaging more than 18 points per game on the season and 10.3 rebounds on the season, while also leading his team in assists with 15. Hrncir scored 15 points and pulled down nine boards in the win over the Golden Eagles a season ago. The Minnesota native has scored in double-figures in every game this season, including back-to-back 20 point games.

HIGH SCORING AFFAIR? There is a decent chance that this game on Friday could be that of the shootout variety. UIU is averaging nearly 85 points per game on the season, but also gives up nearly 80 per game. The Peacocks have given up 75 points or more in three straight games heading into this game on Friday afternoon.

St. Cloud State. Speaking of a familiar foe, the Huskies are about as familiar as they come. SCSU is an NSIC opponent, but this game on Saturday will not count towards the conference record. SCSU is just 2-3 on the season, but they have played one of the tougher schedules in the nation and have nice wins over Lake Superior State and Minnesota State.

STATS ARE THE SAME. SCSU scores 69.6 points per game, while also allowing 69.6 points per game on the season. It's pretty rare for a team to have an even scoring differential and that will fluctuate throughout the year, but it's interesting to think about nonetheless. SCSU is coming off their best defensive performance in a win at Minnesota State on Tuesday, allowing the Mavericks to score just 53 points.

STRUGGLES FROM THE FIELD.  SCSU has really struggled this season from the field. SCSU is shooting less than 40 percent from the field and just 21 percent from long range, which is third to last in the entire nation. What helps the Huskies is they have one of the best three point percentage defenses in the nation, allowing opponents to shoot just 24 percent from long range.

12 STRAIGHT.  SCSU will look to make it 13 in a row on Saturday afternoon against the Golden Eagles. The Huskies have won 12 games in a row against the maroon and gold dating back to 2019. The last three games against the two teams have been decided by just 18 points and saw a Huskies overtime win a season ago.