UNIVERSITY OF CROOKSTON MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM SIGNS SIX PLAYERS TO LETTERS OF INTENT

BY Chris Vito - Assistant Sports Information Director

University of Minnesota, Crookston Head Men’s Basketball Coach Jeff Oseth announced today the signing of six student-athletes to Letters of Intent for the 2009-2010 season. Junior college transfers Mike Larsen of Salt Lake City, Utah and Darin Weeks of Green River, Wyo., along with incoming freshmen Kyle Kreklow of Delano, Minn., Kyle Risinger of Minnetonka, Minn., Broderick Schmidt of Marion, S.D. all have signed national letters of intent while Andrew Scott of LeSueur, Minn. has signed an institutional letter of intent to round out the 2009 recruiting class for the Golden Eagles.

Mike Larsen, a 6’9 sophomore power forward from Salt Lake City, Utah, averaged ten points, five rebounds and shot 44% from the field at Western Wyoming Community College. He helped lead his team into the second round of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region IX Tournament. Larsen also garnered first team all state averaging 13 points and seven rebounds per game as a senior at Riverton High School. Larsen will major in business at the University of Minnesota, Crookston.

“Mike Larsen is an outstanding shooter,” says head coach Jeff Oseth. “He has established himself as one of the premier face-up big men in the area. He is an extremely versatile player with all the tools to make him a special player at UMC. Mike is a very smart basketball player that has good size and length to contribute immediately. We are extremely excited to have Mike join the Golden Eagle family.”

Darin Weeks, a 6’2 sophomore guard/forward from Green River, Wyo., joins the Golden Eagles after a very successful season at Western Wyoming Community College. Darin’s 14.4 points and four assists per game were good enough to earn him second team All- Wyoming Community College Athletic Conference, as well as NJCAA Region IX All-Tournament Team. He shot 46% from the floor, 44% from three-point range and 72% from the free-throw line last season. Weeks will major in biology at the University of Minnesota, Crookston.

“Darin is as tough as they come,” says Coach Oseth. “He is a great shooter with the capability of exploding to the basket at will. He has proven himself at the highest levels making important contributions to his team. He is an incredible person with great character and we are very much looking forward to working with Darin.”

Kyle Kreklow, a 6’7 guard/forward from Delano, Minn., is a three-year varsity starter and four-year letter winner at both Blaine and Delano High Schools. He was named to the Wright County All-Conference team and was team MVP for Delano H.S. Kyle averaged 13.6 points per game while shooting 50% from the field and grabbed 8.5 rebounds per game.

“Kyle’s upside is huge,” says Coach Oseth. “He played the point guard for his high school team, so he has good ball skills. However, he has the ability to play a multitude of positions. He has great size and length for both the guard and forward positions and he sees the floor extremely well. Kyle comes from a great basketball family as both his older brothers play college basketball, so he has a great understanding of the game. We’re extremely excited that Kyle has chosen to join our basketball family here at UMC.”

Kyle Risinger, a 6’1 point guard from Minnetonka, Minn., was a large contributor to Minnetonka High School’s 2008 Class AAAA State Championship team as a junior. He was named All-Conference in the Classic Lake Conference his senior year and was All-Conference Honorable Mention as a junior. A three-time team Defensive Player of the year, Risinger also excelled on the football field where he was name St. Paul Pioneer Press First Team All-State and First Team All-Conference. This past season as a senior, he averaged 16 points, eight assists and five rebounds per game.

“Kyle is as tough a competitor as there is,” says Coach Oseth. “He is physically ready to compete at the collegiate level. Kyle competed and succeeded in one of the toughest conferences in the largest class of basketball in the state. He has been very well-coached at Minnetonka High School by Head Coach John Hedstrom. He has a great ability to create for others and is an excellent defender. We think Kyle can contribute right away on the court, as well as be a team leader off the court.”

Broderick Schmidt, a 6’10 forward from Marion, S.D., is a three-time team MVP. He averaged 18 points, ten rebounds and five blocks per game during his senior season. Broderick is a three-time all-conference selection. He comes to UMC with a 3.9 GPA and was a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the National Honor Society.

“Broderick’s length and athleticism allow him the opportunity to do a wide variety of things on the court,” says Coach Oseth. “He’s an extremely hard worker and a total team player. He has the potential to be an excellent player in the NSIC. He comes from a great family and we’re looking forward to working with Broderick over the course of his collegiate career. We’re thrilled to have him join the Golden Eagle family.”

Broderick is the son of the late Dr. Bradley Keith Schmidt and Pamela Rose Schmidt.

Andrew Scott, a 6’9 center from LeSueur, Minn., has agreed to an institutional letter of intent. Scott lead his LeSueur-Henderson High School team in blocks and rebounds his sophomore and junior seasons. An anterior cruciate ligament tear during the football season of his senior year prevented him from playing basketball this past season.

“Andrew has great size for an incoming freshman,” says Coach Oseth. “At 6’9, 240 pounds and still growing, he has the potential to be able to play inside in the NSIC. We think that, when healthy, Andrew could be a top post player in our league. We’re very pleased that Andrew has decided to play his collegiate basketball at UMC.”

The six signees join third team All-Metro selection Damarius Cruz of Plymouth, Minn., Wisconsin State All-Star Mike Boebel of Marshall, Wis. and Andrew Albers of Kimberly, Wis. in the Golden Eagles 2009 recruiting class. Cruz, Boebel and Albers signed National Letters of Intent during the early signing period last November.

ILLINOIS DROPS MINNESOTA

THIS IS FROM DAVID MERCER OF THE AP, CHAMPAIGN, Ill.

Mike Davis scored 14 points and Trent Meacham added 13 to lead No. 20 Illinois to a 52-41 victory over Minnesota on Thursday night.

The Illini (23-6, 11-5 Big Ten) lost 59-36 at Minnesota in January.

Demitri McCamey added 10 points for Illinois, which took the lead for good and closed the game with a 14-2 second-half run.

Davis, who had 11 rebounds for his eighth double-double, had six points and six rebounds in the big run that lasted just under 10 minutes.

The Illini shot 42 percent from the field for the game, including 52.6 percent in the second half.

Damian Johnson had 18 points for the Gophers (20-8, 8-8), 14 in the first half.

While Illinois was finding its shooting touch, the Gophers lost what little they had in the second half when Johnson went 2-for-7 from the field.

Minnesota shot 34.4 percent in the first half, including going 0-for-9 from 3-point range. But it got worse in the second half when the Gophers shot 28.6 percent. During one stretch, the Golden Gophers managed just one field goal over 9 minutes. They didn't score over the game's final 6:21.

Illinois held Lawrence Westbrook, Minnesota's leading scorer, to four points, 8.5 below his average.

The Illini used a 9-0 run to take a 30-23 lead just under 2 minutes into the second half. The Gophers pulled within 38-37 with just under 11 minutes left on a steal and layup by Blake Hoffarber.

The Gophers took the lead at 39-38 on a basket by Travis Busch, but missed a chance to put some space between themselves and the Illini on consecutive misses by the suddenly cold Johnson, a jumper that clanked off the rim and another off the glass.

Davis made two baskets, the second a baseline jumper that gave Illinois a 42-39 lead with just over 8 minutes to play.

Minnesota's Ralph Sampson cut the lead to one, but Illinois hit two 3s — one by McCamey and another by Meacham — to cap a 10-2 run that made it 48-41 with 4:09 to play.

CREIGHTON DEFEATS UNI 77-71

The University of Northern Iowa’s 11-game winning streak came to and end on Sunday afternoon, as Creighton posted a 77-71 win over the Panthers in front of a season-high crowd of 6,234 at the McLeod Center.

UNI junior forward Adam Koch led all players with 23 points and a season-high tying 12 rebounds, including five offensive boards. Koch was a perfect 13-for-13 at the free throw line in the game, and has now made 25 consecutive foul shots. Koch was joined in double figures by sophomore guard Kwadzo Ahelegbe who had 16 points and four assists, while junior guard Ali Farokhmanesh added 10 points. Creighton was led by forward Justin Carter, who had 17 points, six rebounds and four assists.

Creighton opened a 10-7 lead to start the game, but UNI tied it on a three-pointer from Travis Brown. The Bluejays went back in front 15-12, but a pair of free throws from Adam Rodenberg and a layup from Jordan Eglseder gave UNI the lead, 16-15.

Creighton opened a four-point edge, 20-16, after a layup from Carter midway through the first half. But UNI scored six straight, culminated by a layup from Ahelegbe, to regain the advantage, 22-20. The lead changed hands three more times, before Creighton used a 5-0 run to open a 31-26 advantage with 3:18 left before halftime. UNI ended the half by getting a short jumper and two free throws from Koch to get the Panthers within 31-30 at intermission.

Koch scored five straight points to in the opening minute of the second half to give UNI its largest lead of the game, 35-31. Carter and Booker Woodfox made consecutive three-pointers to push Creighton back in front, 37-35, at Creighton would not trail again. Those two treys were the start of a 15-4 Bluejay run that ended with CU holding a 46-39 lead with 15:30 left.

The Panthers got four straight foul shots from Ahelegbe to get within 48-45 with 13:03 on the clock, but the Bluejays answered with eight straight points to move in front, 56-45, at 8:45.

UNI made a run, getting within 62-57 after Farokhmanesh drained a three with just over five minutes left in the game. UNI was still within five when Creighton’s Josh Dotzler made a key three-pointer to extend Creighton’s lead back to 66-58 with just under three minutes remaining. The Panthers didn’t get closer than six points the rest of the way, as Creighton made 9-of-12 free throws in the final two minutes to seal the win.

The Panthers shot a season-low 29 percent from the field, including 5-for-26 from three-point range (19.2 percent). It was just the third time all year UNI was held below 40 percent shooting. Creighton connected on 47 percent of its shots for the game and was 6-for-17 from behind the arc. Both teams got to the foul line often, as the Panthers were 30-for-32 as a team, while the Bluejays were 23-for-33. UNI held a commanding lead in rebounding, grabbing 49 rebounds (including 20 offensive) to just 29 by CU.

With the victory, Creighton improved to 19-6 overall, 9-4 in the Missouri Valley Conference, while UNI fell to 17-7 overall, 11-2 in the Valley. The Panthers play host to Southern Illinois this Wednesday (Feb. 11), with tipoff time from the McLeod Center set for 7:05 pm.