Men's Basketball | 1/14/2026 11:57:00 AM

#TIDBITS

Golden Eagle men's basketball will return home this weekend following a road trip where they went 1-1. Minnesota Crookston will play both Wayne State College and Augustana University for the third straight season at home. The Golden Eagles are coming off an 11 point loss to Concordia-St. Paul.

   BACK AT HOME. The Golden Eagles only have seven home games left, and they won their last home game against the University of Minnesota Morris. Now they will return home for the weekend where they look to make it a home win streak.

   COMING IN HOT. Alijah Washington is coming into the weekend fresh off of his best game of the season. Against the Golden Bears, Washington had a 24 point afternoon, shot 10/16, had one assist, and one steal. Washington now looks to build on that effort.

   NOT IN MY HOUSE. Kuzadi Mukoma Jr. was a stud in his own end against the Golden Bears on Saturday, he came back home after having three blocks, one steal, and three rebounds. Mukoma did not put many points on the scoreboard Saturday, but he still made his presence known.

   SWENSON COLLECTS. The Golden Eagles have been the beneficiaries of the performances of their freshmen this year. While some players have shown their impact on the scoreboard, Spencer Swenson has made his impact with rebounds. Swenson leads the Golden Eagles this year with 87 rebounds, 19 have come in the offensive end, with 68 being in his own end.

   GIMME THAT. Donez Lindsay and Alijah Washington have both been getting involved in creating pressure and forcing opponents to turn the ball over. Lindsay leads the team this year in steals with 25, while Washington is right behind him with 22. 


Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles
Head Coach: Bryan Beamish
Record at UMC: 16-78 Season at UMC: 12th Season (Fourth as Head Coach)

Wayne State Wildcats
Head Coach: Jeff Kaminsky
Record at WSC: 139-132  Season at WSC: 10th Season

Augustana University Vikings
Head Coach: Cody Schilling
Record at AU: 20-25  Season at AU: 2nd Season 

Wayne State @ Minnesota Crookston
Date: Friday, Jan,. 16
Time: 5:30 PM
Place: Crookston, Minn. / Lysaker Gymnasium
Watch: https://nsicnetwork.com/goldeneaglesports/
Stats: https://goldeneaglesports.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Series Record: WSC leads the all-time series 28-9
Last Meeting: 78-76 win for the Wildcats a season ago in Crookston


Augustana @ Minnesota Crookston
Date: Saturday, Jan. 17
Time: 1:30 P.M.
Place: Crookston, Minn. / Lysaker Gymnasium
Watch: https://nsicnetwork.com/goldeneaglesports/
Stats: https://goldeneaglesports.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Series Record: AU leads 21-4
Last Meeting: 74-71 win in overtime for the Golden Eagles a season ago

#HEADLINES

1. Back at home

2. Have to hit shots

3. Continue to lean on the freshmen

4. Hosting Wayne State and Augustana for third straight year

5. Win the rebound battle


Weekly Snapshot

Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles
Projected Starters
So. F 23 Brayden Carlson (6-9, Woodbury, Minn.) 3.4 PPG, 3.3 RPG
Jr. F 10 Kazadi Mukoma, Jr. (6-8, Grand Island, Neb.) 13.1 PPG, 4.1 RPG
Fr. G 2 Donez Lindsey (6-0, Stockton, Calif.) 13.9 PPG, 3.2 RPG
R-Jr. G 15 Alijah Washington (6-4, San Bernardino, Calif.) 13.3 PPG, 4.3 RPG
Jr. G/F 21 J.D. Roberts (6-6, Parkville, Mo.) 4.6 PPG, 4.6 RPG
Top Bench Players
Sr. G 3 GD Deng (6-4, Des Moines, Iowa) .8 PPG, 2.4 RPG
So. G 11 Caiden Swenby (6-3, Fertile, Minn.) 2.1 PPG, 1.3 RPG
So. G 20 Hunter Lorenson (5-11, Lake City, Minn.) 4.9 PPG, 2.4 RPG
Fr. F 1 Spencer Swenson (6-8, Sauk Rapids, Minn.) 10.9 PPG, 5.8 RPG
R-Jr. G 5 Chandler Meeks (6-1, Omaha, Neb.) 6.0 PPG, 1.7 RPG
 
Wayne State Wildcats
Projected Starters
So. F 23 Matt Noll (6-7, Sioux City, Iowa) 14.0 PPG, 4.9 RPG
R-Jr. G 2 Aurrion Harris (6-4, Merced, Calif.) 9.6 PPG, 7.1 RPG
Sr. F 25 Andrew Stokes (6-4, Westchester, Ill.) 11.6 PPG, 4.6 RPG
Sr. G 13 Kai Smith (6-1, Los Angeles, Calif.) 8.6 PPG, 2.8 RPG
Jr.  G 3 JJ Ferrin (6-3, Omaha, Neb.) 11.4 PPG, 1.5 RPG
Top Bench Players
Fr. G 11 Ben Kerkhoff (6-6, Bettendorf, Iowa) 6.5 PPG, 1.4 RPG
R-Fr. G 0 Darshan Thomas (6-6, Chicago, Ill.) 8.9 PPG, 4.3 RPG
R-Fr. G 10 Eldon Turner (6-0, Bellevue, Neb.) 3.5 PPG, 0.9 RPG
Augustana Vikings
Projected Starters
So. G 2 Tameron Ferguson (6-2, St. Cloud, Minn.) 20.0 PPG, 4.1 RPG
Sr. F 22 Brady Helgren (6-9, Edina, Minn.) 5.8 PPG, 4.3 RPG
Sr. G 23 Sam Rensch (6-5, Hutchinson, Minn.) 13.3 PPG, 4.0 RPG
Sr. G 1 Tanner Te Slaa (6-5, Hull, Iowa) 9.9 PPG, 4.1 RPG
So. F 12 Bennett Fried (6-7, La Crosse, Wis.) 9.1 PPG, 4.0 RPG
Top Bench Players
Fr. G 10 Amari Westmoreland-Vendiola (6-4, Kahuku, Hawaii.) 3.5 PPG, 2.5 RPG
Fr. G 0 Marcus Talley (6-2, Mitchell, S.D.) 2.5 PPG, 1.1 RPG
So. F 21 Conner Kraft (6-8, Fargo, N.D.) 5.1 PPG, 2.8 RPG

KNOW THE OPPONENTS

Wayne State. Wayne State and Minnesota Crookston will meet this weekend for the 38th time in program history. The Wildcats are coming in having won four of their last five games. The Wildcats have also won their last four matchups against the Golden Eagles

PLAYING IT TIGHT. The Wildcats have had a lot of tight games this year, and their averages show exactly that. Wayne State is currently averaging 77.4 points per game, while allowing 74 points per game. In their last five games, the highest point differential at the end of the game was 14.

THREE IN DOUBLE DIGITS. The Wildcats have been getting a lot of production from their entire team, but Matt Noll, Andrew Stokes, and JJ Ferrin are leading the way avering 14.0, 11.6 and 11.4 respectively. These three have been the models of consistency for the Wildcats, and are the players that you have to look out for on defense.

TOP 5 REBOUNDER. Aurrion Harris has been unbelievable in the rebounding department. His 114 rebounds puts him in fifth in the entire NSIC for rebounding. With 31 offensive rebounds, which is good for sixth in the conference, and 83 defensive rebounds, seventh most in the conference, he is a player that you have to keep an eye on.

AUGUSTANA UNIVERSITY. The Vikings are coming into the weekend hoping to snap their current three game losing streak. With an 8-7 overall record, 6-4 in the conference, the Vikings are in desperate need of a win if they want to be in the NSIC Tournament.

FERGUSON CANNOT BE STOPPED. Tameron Ferguson has been sensational for the Vikings this year. He is averaging 20 points per game, third in the conference, and is fresh off of a 24 point performance. Those 24 points are only the fourth most he's had in a game all season.

TAKE IT AWAY BOYS. The duo of Sam Rensch and Tameron Ferguson have been taking the ball away at an alarming rate, with Rensch having 28 steals and Ferguson having 25, both top 7 in the conference.

DANGEROUS AT THE LINE.  The Vikings have had some high level production at the free throw line this season, with both Sam Rensch and Conner Kraft shooting over 80% from the line. Rensch is 28/32 for .875, while Kraft is 17/21 for .810.