The Storm hit nine three-pointers in the second half to pull away from the Cougars on Saturday.
ST. BONIFACIUS, Minn.– The University of Minnesota Morris men’s basketball team couldn’t keep up with Crown College in the second half on Saturday as the Storm made nine three-pointers after halftime to pull away for a 93-78 win. The loss drops the Cougars to 8-10 (3-4 UMAC) on the season.
A trio of scorers did much of the damage for Crown on the evening. Cade Carroll (27 points), Jacob Van Dam (25), and Seth Royston (18) combined for 70 of the Storm’s 93 points. While UMN Morris’ Noah Kannegiesser had 22, only one other player, Kenneth Riley, reached double-figures with 11.
Following a flurry of lead changes over the opening three minutes, Crown took the lead for good on a layup from Royston to go up, 10-9. The Storm led by as many as six in the first half before Minnesota Morris rallied, tying the score at 32-32 on a jumper from Kannegiesser and again at 37-37 and 39-39 on buckets from Will McBee and Riley. Carroll connected on a jumper with just under two minutes to go until the break and neither team would score again, making it 41-39 at the intermission.
Those two points from Carroll would eventually be the start of a 10-0 run as Minnesota Morris struggled out of the gates in the second half. The closest the Cougars would get after that was 54-47 following a jumper from Jaret Johnson four minutes in. Another 10-2 burst from the Storm followed to increase their lead to 15 and the bulge would grow to 25 points as the half progressed. The Cougar bench cut into the deficit as the minutes ticked away, but time was on Crown’s side and the Storm easily held on for the victory.
Besides Kannegiesser and Riley, Dillon Haider and McBee added eight and Pal Dak chipped in seven. Johnson and Pal Dak hauled in five boards and Haider handed out four assists.
Minnesota Morris stays on the road on Monday night with a make-up contest at the University of Wisconsin-Superior. Tip-off is set for 7:15 p.m.
