Month: January 2025

The University of Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagle Men’s Basketball team scrapped, but fell short to the University of Sioux Falls 85-66.

FIRST HALF –
UMC took a 2-0 lead to start the game, but a quick answer from Sioux Falls was an early sign of a high scoring affair. The Cougars would go on a 6-1 run before the Golden Eagles would make it a three point game at the 15:18 mark. Each team would score a layup over the next minute to make it 12-9 with Sioux falls ahead. The Cougars exploded with a 14-4 run over the next seven minutes of the game, making it 26-14 with about 7 minutes left in the half. A couple of UMC free throws and a Chandler Meeks jumper helped the Golden Eagles regain some momentum, as they would cut the lead to 9 with 5:27 to go in the half. Three-pointers from Reid Grant and Christian Bowen-Webb helped UMC out on the offensive end, but they were unable to close the gap as Sioux Falls took a 45-32 lead into halftime.

SECOND HALF –
Both teams came out firing to start the second half, but Sioux Falls still maintained a comfortable 51-35 lead at the 18:20 mark. The defenses started to wake up over the next several minutes, as the next field goal was not scored unitl about two minutes later. Sioux Falls found themselves in foul trouble, picking up 7 team fouls before the halfway point of the half. Free throws were the only spots of offense, as makes from both sides put the score at 55-39 at the 14:09 mark. UMC’s Jordan Mitchell converted a three point play a minute later to cut the lead back to 12 at the 13 minute mark. That sparked a 7-3 run for the Golden Eagles, capped off by a big jumper from Carlson. The Cougar offense continued to struggle, as they missed shots and committed turnovers, while digging deeper into foul trouble. UMC entered the double bonus at the halfway point of the half, and trailed by 11 at the 9:47 mark in the 2nd. Two free throws from Mitchell cut the lead to single digits moments later. On the next possession, Sioux Falls answered with two free throws of their own. That would spark a 14-2 run following a couple of Golden Eagle turnovers and missed shots. A Micah Garrett fadeaway jumper was the only Golden Eagle bucket over the 4 minute stretch before UMC burned a timeout. Out of the break, the Cougars slowed the pace and knocked down a three to make it 76-52. UMC scored the next 6 on threes from Micah Garrett and Reid Grant, which forced a Sioux Falls timeout. Meeks and Landon Dimler added a late score each, but it was not enough to overcome the relentless offense of Sioux Falls. The Cougars would come away with an 84-66 win.

UMC is now 3-11 on the season and will hit the road to face Winona State next Friday.

Listen to postgame comments from UMC head coach Brian Beamish:

The post UMC Men’s Basketball loses hard fought game to Sioux Falls first appeared on KROX.

The UMC women’s basketball team surged in the final minutes but just couldn’t complete the comeback as the Golden Eagles narrowly fell to the Cougars of Sioux Falls by a score of 75-65 at Lysaker Gymnasium.

FIRST QUARTER –
At the start of the game, UMC started out with the hot hand, as Riley Jenkins hit a 3-pointer to open up the scoring. A fast start was important for UMC, and a Hope Dudycha layup allowed the Golden Eagles to take a 7-3 lead 3 minutes into the contest. Willow Thiel also provided some great energy off the bench, and a tough finish by her made it 11-6. Sioux Falls was able to come back, however, as a Kami Wadsworth 3-pointer tied the game at 11. But, the UMC defense was able to stay strong defensively, outrebounding the Cougars 8-5 on the defensive glass, and an Emma Miller jumper gave the Golden Eagles a 17-13 lead to end the quarter.

SECOND QUARTER –
The second quarter saw Kami Wadsworth really start to heat up for the Cougars. Out of her 17 first half points, 13 of them came in the 2nd quarter, and she was scoring from all over the court. Her spark in offense jumpstarted the Cougars. After a Hope Dudycha 3-pointer made it 23-18 UMC, Sioux Falls responded quickly and ferociously, going on a 16-0 run with 9 of the points coming from Wadsworth, giving the Cougars a 34-23 lead. UMC did not score again until there was 1:14 remaining, on 2 Nicole Hernandez free throws, but another Wadsworth bucket with under thirty seconds left made the score 38-27 at the half. UMC was outscored 25-10 in the frame, after being outscored 27-8 in the second quarter the game before against Southwest Minnesota State.

THIRD QUARTER –
UMC, similar to Friday night’s game, needed to come out of the halftime break with a sense of urgency. Unfortunately, the first five points of the half went to the Cougars, making it 43-27. From there, however, UMC began to slowly climb their way back into the contest. The Cougars were able to maintain a double-digit lead, but Wadsworth was shut down, and UMC was able to capitalize in the final three minutes of the quarter. After the Cougars made it 52-38, Riley Jenkins and Nicole Hernandez brought UMC to within 7 at 52-45. The Cougars hit a 3-point shot to bring the lead back to 10, but an Emma Miller 3-pointer in the final seconds made the score 56-48 after 3.

FOURTH QUARTER –
UMC used that shot by Miller in the final seconds of the third quarter to propel them into the 4th. The Golen Eagles immediately got two easy layups in the first minute of the quarter to cut the lead to 4, but when it mattered most, the Cougars were able to hit shots, especially from beyond the arch, where they shot 4-4 from there in the quarter. After the Cougars were able to pull ahead to a 63-52 lead, UMC began to claw back again. They were able to draw fouls and make shots from the foul line, and at 69-59, MIller made threes on back-to-back possessions to make the score 69-65. However, Sioux Falls relied on their three-point shooting down the stretch, as threes by Danielle Minsaas and Gracie Traphagen put the game on ice, making the final score 75-65 in favor of the Cougars.

UMC falls to 5-9 on the season, 3-4 now in conference play. USF improves to 7-8, 4-5 in the conference.
For postgame comments from Golden Eagle head coach Natalie Moynihan, click below.

Emma Miler

Riley Jenkins

Willow Thiel

UMC Team Huddle

Halle Winjum

Hope Dudycha

Nicole Hernandez

Halle Winjum

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The post UMC Women’s Basketball narrowly fall short in comeback attempt, lose to USF first appeared on KROX.