Men's Basketball | 12/2/2025 10:57:00 AM

#TIDBITS

Golden Eagle men's basketball will commence their first NSIC weekend this season in the newly appointed NSIC. This week will start conference play that will see some scheduling quirks throughout the year. The Golden Eagles will travel to Minnesota Duluth on Wednesday night for a date with the 'Dogs, looking for their first ever win in Duluth over the 5-2 Bulldogs. Following that, the Golden Eagles will finally be at home for just the second time this season, when they welcome in their Highway-2 rivals Bemidji State for a 1 PM tip on Saturday.

·   SEASON GREETINGS. In my opinion, December is one of the best months of the year. It brings joy, happiness and excitedness to everyone. The Golden Eagles will hope those three adjectives find them this Christmas season. It's a large six games for the Golden Eagles, all in conference play. It starts this weekend and with nine newcomers on the roster, the Golden Eagles can only hope that their roster molds into some important conference wins.

• SAUK RAPIDS SPENCE. Spencer Swenson sure liked to play in front of his friends and family last Saturday against St. Cloud State. The former Sauk Rapids-Rice star, playing just eight minutes from his hometown to Halenbeck Hall, had his best career game as a Golden Eagle. The freshman finished with a career high 20 points on 6-9 shooting from the field, while also shooting 7-8 at the charity stripe and pulling down five rebounds and two steals. Swenson also played a career best 33 minutes, as well. Swenson showed every bit why he has an extremely bright future as a Golden Eagle.

·  DOUBLE-DOUBLE FOR J.D. Swenson had a career night on Saturday, while his lanky teammate J.D. Roberts had one on Friday afternoon at Upper Iowa. Roberts, the former Central Arkansas Bear, finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds off the bench for the Golden Eagles, which were both career watermarks. Roberts also buried two threes in 29 minutes. Roberts is a key piece off the bench and the Golden Eagles will hope for more production like that throughout the season. Roberts' double-double off the bench was the first since Chase Johnson finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds off the bench in a playoff loss to Winona State on 2/26/20.

·   LET IT FLY.  The Golden Eagles have done a better job of letting the ball fly from deep and for the most part, they've seen the ball go through the hoop. The maroon and gold have made 45 threes in their last four games, which is the most in a four game stretch since 11/21/19 to 12/6/19, when the Golden Eagles made 46 from long range in a four game span, all of which were wins. Minnesota Crookston is off to a good offensive start, averaging nearly 76 points per game on the season.

·    STRONG EFFORT IN ST. CLOUD. Although it was a loss, Minnesota Crookston gave a pretty good scare into one of the best projected teams in the Northern Sun. The Huskies, who were picked to finish fourth overall in the NSIC, allowed 68 points to the Golden Eagles, which is the second most points they have given up on the season. To put that into perspective, St. Cloud State gave up just 53 points in a win over Minnesota State last Tuesday; the Mavericks are a perennial power and two years removed from a National Championship. Minnesota Crookston played well against the Huskies, but will look to put together a full 40 minutes together.

·   CRASH THE GLASS. In their first five games of the year this season, one thing that the Golden Eagles have done really well that has gone under the radar has been their ability to hit the offensive boards. Minnesota Crookston started this season with double-digit offensive rebounds on the season, including 19 offensive boards against Oak Hills Christian and 17 against Upper Iowa just last Friday. It's the first stretch of five straight games with double-digit offensive rebounds since the final five games of the 2021-22 season. Second chance opportunities are a good way to get easy buckets and the Golden Eagles will look to continue that strength throughout NSIC play.

• CHARITY STRIPE SUCCESS. Apparently the SID is in the spirit of finding certain streaks on this Tuesday. The Golden Eagles have had five straight games with more than 10 makes from the free throw line, making it the first time they have done that since 2022. Scoring points with the stop clocked is a key to success for any team, including the Golden Eagles.

• ODD SCHEDULE. As we mentioned before, this week will start the run of games in December with some odd scheduling and games on days that are rare for the maroon and gold. Minnesota Crookston will play on Wednesday this week at Minnesota Duluth and will return home to host Bemidji State on Saturday. It will be the first of two Wednesday games this month for the Golden Eagles, who will also host the University of Jamestown for the first time as a conference opponent on the 17th. Minnesota Crookston will look to play good basketball, despite the quirks in the schedule.

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

Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs
Head Coach: Justin Wieck
Record at UMD: 147-60  Season at UMD: 8th Season 

Bemidji State Beavers
Head Coach: Mike Boschee
Record at BSU: 138-162  Season at BSU: 14th Season

Minnesota Crookston @ (RV) Minnesota Duluth
Date: Wednesday, Dec. 3
Time: 5:30 P.M.
Place: Duluth, Minn. / Romano Gymnasium
Watch: https://nsicnetwork.com/umdbulldogs/
Stats: https://umdbulldogs.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Series Record: UMD leads the all-time series, 42-3
Last Meeting: 76-66 win for UMD in Crookston last season


Bemidji State @ Minnesota Crookston
Date: Saturday, Dec. 6
Time: 1:00 P.M.
Place: Crookston, Minn. / Lysaker Gymnasium
Watch: https://nsicnetwork.com/goldeneaglesports/
Stats: https://goldeneaglesports.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Series Record: BSU leads the all-time series, 39-12
Last Meeting: A 15 point win in Bemidji last season. These two teams split the season series in 2024-25

Weekly Snapshot

Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles
Projected Starters
Fr. F 1 Spencer Swenson (6-8, Sauk Rapids, Minn.) 8.4 PPG, 4.4 RPG
Jr. F 10 Kazadi Mukoma, Jr. (6-8, Grand Island, Neb.) 11.0 PPG, 4.3 RPG
Fr. G 2 Donez Lindsey (6-0, Stockton, Calif.) 15.2 PPG, 3.5 RPG
R-Jr. G 15 Alijah Washington (6-4, San Bernardino, Calif.) 13.6 PPG, 3.8 RPG
So. G 20 Hunter Lorenson (5-11, Lake City, Minn.) 7.3 PPG, 4.2 RPG
Top Bench Players
Sr. G 3 GD Deng (6-4, Des Moines, Iowa) .5 PPG, 1.5 RPG
Fr. G 11 Caiden Swenby (6-3, Fertile, Minn.) 3.7 PPG, 1.5 RPG
Jr. G/F 21 J.D. Roberts (6-6, Parkville, Mo.) 5.2 PPG, 4.5 RPG
Fr. F 23 Brayden Carlson (6-9, Woodbury, Minn.) 2.8 PPG, 2.5 RPG
Fr. G 13 Quincy Everson (6-2, Goodyear, Minn.) 4.5 PPG, 2.0 RPG
Fr. G 12 Landon Dimler (6-5, Mankato, Minn.) 3.5 PPG, 6.0 RPG
 
Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs
Projected Starters
R-Fr. G 00 Jackson Fowlkes (6-4, Brooklyn Park, Minn.) 10.1 PPG, 2.9 RPG
R-Jr. G 4 Caleb Siwek (6-3, Rosemount, Minn.) 19.3 PPG, 3.1 RPG
R-Sr. F 12 Mattie Thompson (6-8, Duluth, Minn.) 8.7 PPG, 4.1 RPG
R-Jr. G 13 Nick Katona (6-7, Shakopee, Minn.) 6.6 PPG, 6.4 RPG
R-Sr. F 34 Noah Paulson (6-9, Duluth, Minn.) 8.9 PPG, 5.3 RPG
Top Bench Players
So. G 3 Kole Hanson (6-2, Prior Lake, Minn.) 6.4 PPG, 2.2 RPG
R-So. G 10 Owen Leach (6-6, Glyndon, Minn.) 4.1 PPG, 3.0 RPG
Gr. F 1 Peyton Rogers (6-7, Chippewa Falls, Wis.) 1.3 PPG, 3.3 RPG
Fr. G 25 Wyatt McBeth (6-8, Plymouth, Minn.) 1.9 PPG, 1.8 RPG
R-Fr. F 24 Daniel Molhoek (6-9, Edina, Minn.) 2.9 PPG, 1.7 RPG
Bemidji State Beavers
Projected Starters
R-So. G 5 Nathan Fenske (6-2, Cottonwood, Minn.) 8.0 PPG, 4.3 RPG
Jr. G 11 John Pecarich (6-3, Baxter, Minn.) 18.8 PPG, 4.0 RPG
Jr. F 15 Isaac Severts (6-5, Bemidji, Minn.) 4.5 PPG, 5.8 RPG
Gr. G 22 Henry Shannon III (6-7, Apple Valley, Minn.) 18.5 PPG, 4.8 RPG
Jr. F 30 Austin Josephson (6-9, Meadowlands, Minn.) 8.0 PPG, 4.7 RPG
Top Bench Players
So. G 12 Dominic Fairbanks (5-11, Cass Lake, Minn.) 9.3 PPG, 2.0 RPG
R-Fr. F 0 Luke Diem (6-7, Brainerd, Minn.) 1.3 PPG, .7 RPG
Sr. G 2 Tate Olson (6-7, New York Mills, Minn.) 18.3 PPG, 9.5 RPG
So. G 10 Eddie Jallow Hedqvist (6-5, Stockholm, Sweden) 7.8 PPG, 2.8 RPG

KNOW THE OPPONENTS

Minnesota Duluth. The Bulldogs will look to do what they have done a ton in the series with Minnesota Crookston; winning in Duluth. The Bulldogs have never lost to the maroon and gold in Duluth and although there have been some close calls, the Bulldogs have continued to make one more play than the Golden Eagles in Duluth. The Bulldogs are off to a 5-2 start this season, with both of their losses to Michigan Tech and Northern Michigan.

STRUGGLES FROM THE FIELD. In their previous loss to Northern Michigan on the road, it was a struggle from the field for the Bulldogs in the loss. UMD shot just 19-61 from the floor and 6-20 from long range, just 30 percent on both of those fronts. The Bulldogs will look to get some hometown bounces on Wednesday night in a place where traditionally, they have been tough to beat.

A STAR IN SIWEK. Caleb Siwek is another star in a long line of stars that have made their way to the shores of Lake Superior. Caleb Siwek, a redshirt junior from Rosemont, Minn., has been every bit as advertised this season. Siwek has scored 20 or more points in five of the Bulldogs seven games this season, including a career-high 34 in a season-opening win against East Central. The NSIC North Preseason Player of the Year is averaging 19.3 points per game on the season, which ranks him fourth in the conference in scoring.

D IT UP. Under Justin Wieck, the Bulldogs have traditionally been one of the better defensive teams in the NSIC. That has continued through seven games this year. The Bulldogs are allowing just 65.3 points per game on the year, which is first in the conference and 25th nationally. It's tough to score on the Bulldogs and the Golden Eagles will have to work for everything on the offensive end on Wednesday.

Bemidji State. Highway-2 rival Bemidji State will make their way into town on Saturday afternoon for a 1 PM tip inside Lysaker Gymnasium. The Beavers are 3-3 on the season and 0-1 in conference play. The Beavers have defeated the Golden Eagles in six out of the previous eight games between the two rivals, but the Golden Eagles did defeat the Beavers in Crookston a season ago by the slimmest of margins, 84-83.

KING HENRY. Williams Woods transfer Henry Shannon III has been unreal as of late for Bemidji State. The Minnesota native is averaging 22 points per game in the Beavers' previous two games and 10 boards per game. On the season, Shannon III is one of three Beavers averaging more than 18 points per game.

TWO SIDES OF THE COIN.  The two Golden Eagle opponents this season could not be any more different. Bemidji State, through six games this season, are proving to be a team that can score and score at will, averaging 88 points per game, which is the best in the conference, while also having the best scoring margin at plus-13. The Beavers are also shooting the three at a 48 percent clip, which is third best in the nation and tops in the conference.

TO.  Tate Olson has had to take a larger responsibility this season for the Beavers and so far, so good. Olson is one of those Beavers averaging more than 18 points per game, while also averaging nearly 10 boards per game. The senior from New York Mills, Minn., opened the season with a pair of double-doubles, including a stat line of 24 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists in a loss to Southern Arkansas. The real question for Saturday might be whether or not Olson will play against the Golden Eagles, as he has missed the previous two games for the Beavers.