Men's Basketball | 2/4/2026 9:45:00 AM

#TIDBITS

Golden Eagle men's basketball heads on the road this weekend as they reenter NSIC North play with a pair of games at Northern State and the University of Jamestown. Minnesota Crookston will look to avenge two losses earlier this season to both the Wolves and Jimmies. Minnesota Crookston has just six games left in the regular season this year.

·   HUNG WITH THE BEST. There aren't any moral victories in the sports world, but man, did Minnesota Crookston put one massive scare into the league's best on Saturday. It was a nice bounce back performance for the Golden Eagles following a 23 point loss to Minnesota State on Friday. The Golden Eagles had to come back multiple times on Saturday and tied the score at 62 and gave themselves a chance to win at the end of the game. Minnesota Crookston showed a ton of promise in the tight loss to SCSU.

• FIRST START FOR O. Local product Owen Chervestad has had to work his way into the Golden Eagle rotation and he saw his hard work pay off with his first career collegiate start on Saturday night against the Huskies. The former Red Lake County Rebel didn't disappoint. The freshman set career watermarks in points (9), rebounds (5), field goal makes (4), minutes played (25) and three-point makes (1). Chervestad brought a lot to the Golden Eagles in his start and could make more starts down the stretch.

·  NO HOMETOWN LOVE. Spencer Swenson showed out against his 'hometown' team. The Sauk Rapids, Minn., native, who grew up about seven minutes from the St. Cloud State campus, came to play against the Huskies. In his first start in over a month, Swenson finished with 25 points, 11 rebounds, two blocks and two assists in 33 minutes. It's the 11th double-digit scoring output for the freshman and fourth 20 or more point game on the season, with two of those coming against St. Cloud State. Swenson also has three double-doubles on the season. Swenson was also the lone Golden Eagle to get to the charity stripe, going 9-10 against SCSU.

·   STAR IN YOUR ROLE.  Kazadi Mukoma, Jr., came off the bench for the first time in his Golden Eagle career and gave the Golden Eagles valuable bench minutes. The junior finished with 14 points, seven rebounds and was 4-6 from long range. Maybe more importantly, Mukoma, Jr., finished 5-11 from the field after going just 1-17 the two games before in losses to Southwest Minnesota State and Minnesota State.

·    BIG MAN IN THE MIDDLE. Brayden Carlson is another Golden Eagle who had a solid weekend. The sophomore from the Twin Cities averaged 7.0 points and 3.5 rebounds per game and was an efficient 7-12 from the field in two games against the Mavericks and Huskies. Carlson came off the bench against the Huskies and had a nice night in 15 minutes.

·   LESS VOLUME=HIGHER PERCENTAGE. That seems to be the case this season for the Golden Eagles from behind the arc. The numbers certainly suggest it. In their six games this season shooting over 40 percent from long range, the Golden Eagles have shot less than 26 threes in five of those games, the lone exception being a 21-44 performance from three against Oak Hills Christian. The Golden Eagles seem to have good offense and getting inside the paint when they aren't shooting the three ball a ton.

• SLOW DOWN SMITH. Marshawn Smith was a one man wrecking crew for Northern State in their win over the Golden Eagles right before Christmas. Smith, who came off the bench for the Wolves, finished with 31 points on 14-18 shooting from the field, many of those field goals came near the rim. If the Golden Eagles want to return the favor and knock off NSU on their home floor, they're going to need to slow down the Palo Alto, Calif., native.

• TAKE CARE OF THE ROCK.  The Golden Eagles have done an excellent job of maximizing their offensive opportunities this season, especially in NSIC play. Minnesota Crookston has turned the ball over fewer than 10 times on six different occasions in NSIC play, including just seven against Northern State and nine against the University of Jamestown earlier this season.

Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles
Head Coach: Bryan Beamish
Record at UMC: 17-89 Season at UMC: 12th Season (Fourth as Head Coach) 

Northern State University Wolves
Head Coach: Matt Wilber
Record at NSU: 8-14  Season at NSU: 1st Season

University of Jamestown Jimmies
Head Coach: Casey Bruggeman
Record at UJ: 28-22  Season at UJ: 2nd Season 

Minnesota Crookston @ Northern State
Date: Thursday, Feb. 5
Time: 7:30 PM
Place: Aberdeen, S.D. / Wachs Arena
Watch: https://nsicnetwork.com/nsuwolves/
Stats: https://nsuwolves.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Series Record: NSU leads all-time series 47-4
Last Meeting: 86-67 win for the Wolves earlier this year

Minnesota Crookston @ Jamestown
Date: Saturday, Feb. 7
Time: 3 P.M.
Place: Jamestown, N.D. / Harold Newman Arena
Watch: https://nsicnetwork.com/jimmieathletics/
Stats: https://jimmiepride.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Series Record: Minnesota Crookston leads the all-time series, 4-2
Last Meeting: 78-71 win for the Jimmies earlier this year

#HEADLINES

1. First games of February

2. Back in NSIC North play

3. Will the Golden Eagles continue to start youth?

4. Second matchup with the Wolves and Jimmies this season

5. Just six games to go

Weekly Snapshot

Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles
Projected Starters
Fr. G 4 Brady Westphal (6-2, West Fargo, N.D.) 5.4 PPG, .9 RPG
Fr. G 2 Donez Lindsey (6-0, Stockton, Calif.) 14.0 PPG, 3.3 RPG
Fr. F 1 Spencer Swenson (6-8, Sauk Rapids, Minn.) 12.5 PPG, 6.1 RPG
Sr. G 3 GD Deng (6-4, Des Moines, Iowa) 1.3 PPG, 2.1 RPG
Fr. G 24 Owen Chervestad (6-0, Oklee, Minn.) 1.6 PPG, 1.2 RPG
Top Bench Players
So. F 23 Brayden Carlson (6-9, Woodbury, Minn.) 3.3 PPG, 3.1 RPG
So. G 11 Caiden Swenby (6-3, Fertile, Minn.) 1.7 PPG, 1.1 RPG
R-Jr. G 15 Alijah Washington (6-4, San Bernardino, Calif.) 12.2 PPG, 4.0 RPG
Jr. F 10 Kazadi Mukoma, Jr. (6-8, Grand Island, Neb.) 12.1 PPG, 4.5 RPG
Jr. G/F 21 J.D. Roberts (6-6, Parkville, Mo.) 4.4 PPG, 4.1 RPG
Northern State Wolves
Projected Starters
R-Sr. G 0 Benjamin Bowen (6-5, Highlands Ranch, Colo.) 7.1 PPG, 3.8 RPG
Jr. G 8 Joshua Book (6-4, Christchurch, New Zealand) 14.3 PPG, 5.2 RPG
Jr. F 55 Tobi Obiora (6-9, Bilthoven, Netherlands) 6.9 PPG, 7.5 RPG
Sr. G 10 Simon Akena (6-6, Stockholm, Sweden) 10.4 PPG, 3.9 RPG
Jr. G 2 Marshawn Smith (6-5, East Palo Alto, Calif.) 11.5 PPG, 5.1 RPG
Top Bench Players
Sr. F 14 Ty Rogers (6-7, Aurora, Ill.) 8.2 PPG, 4.1 RPG
Sr. G 4 James Glenn (6-3, Altoona, Iowa) 11.1 PPG, 2.9 RPG
Sr. G 5 Nelson Reynolds (6-2, Peoria, Ill.) 5.4 PPG, .8 RPG

Jamestown Jimmies
Projected Starters
Fr. G 5 Ford Okehi (6-2, Brooklyn, New York) 10.0 PPG, 3.6 RPG
R-Jr. G 13 Cole Glasgow (6-3, Grimes, Iowa) 6.0 PPG, 4.2 RPG
Sr. F 22 Owen Hektner (6-8, Fargo, N.D.) 13.1 PPG, 4.1 RPG
Sr. G 24 Anthony Walters (6-3, Rosedale, New York) 19.5 PPG, 4.3 RPG
Sr. F 15 Carson Woodford (6-8, Redwood Falls, Minn.) 4.3 PPG, 4.7 RPG
Top Bench Players
Jr. F 11 Thomas Diew (6-8, St. Cloud, Minn.) 8.1 PPG, 4.1 RPG
So. G 55 Henry Meyer (6-3, La Crosse, Wis.) 4.6 PPG, 2.5 RPG
Fr. G 0 Zeke Austin (6-2, Albany, Minn.) 3.3 PPG, 1.7 RPG
R-Fr. F 4 Aiden Johnson (6-7, Cannon Falls, Wis.) 2.8 PPG, 1.4 RPG


KNOW THE OPPONENTS

Northern State. Northern State will be back at home for another weekend, as they are coming off a massive win over Southwest Minnesota State on Saturday. The Wolves will look for a season sweep of the Golden Eagles, defeating the maroon and gold by 19 earlier this season in Crookston.

SOLID FROM SMITH. Marshawn Smith has added some much needed juice this season to the Wolves. The California native finished with 31 points earlier this season against the Golden Eagles on 14-18 from the field. In the Wolves win over SMSU on Saturday, Smith finished with 27 points on 11-21 from the field. NSU is 2-1 this season when Smith pours in more than 20 points.

KNOCK DOWN FROM NELSON.  Nelson Reynolds played a massive part in the win over SMSU. The junior finished with 12 points (more than the previous six games combined) on a perfect 4-4 from three. Reynolds is a guy that will do all of his damage from long range, as 28 of his 37 field goal makes have come from long range.

GIVE OUT DIMES.  Joshua Book is one of the best do-it-all type players in the NSIC. Book ranks third in the NSIC in assists and fifth in assists per game, while also ranking third in the entire nation in free throw percentage. Book also ranks 12th in the NSIC in defensive rebounds per game and 10th in points scored this season. Book finished with 13 points, four rebounds and four assists in the win over the Golden Eagles earlier this year.

Jamestown. The Jimmies really haven't had much of an adjustment period in the NSIC. They have competed with most teams in their first season in Division II, including a win earlier this year over the Golden Eagles. Their largest margin of defeat in NSIC play this season came three games ago, a nine point loss to Minnesota State.

LONG LIVE THE LONG BALL. Jamestown loves to get open looks from three and they love to shoot the three. Jamestown has shot 614 times from long range, 144 more times than their opponents this season. Owen Hektner and Anthony Walters are key to that stat, as they have combined for nearly a third of those attempts. In their previous two games, they have made a combined 25 shots from long range.

BACK ON TRACK. Prior to their massive two wins over Southwest Minnesota State and Sioux Falls, the Jimmies struggled, falling four times in a row. The Jimmies have gone through a five game losing streak earlier this year, followed by five wins in a row. The verdict is still out to see how many wins in a row the Jimmies get following a four game losing streak.

BEST IN THE CLUTCH. It might not seem like a lot, but the Jimmies have played four overtime games this season, going 3-1 in that stretch, winning both of their multi-overtime games earlier this season. It's a similar story to the Golden Eagles last season, as the Golden Eagles played in four overtime games, winning just once.