St. Bonifacius, Minn. — The Crown men's basketball team faced Cornell College in their home opener on Saturday afternoon. Leading 42-24 at halftime, the Storm kept their pedal to the ground as they won the second half by 27. 

Senior post Austin VanDerHeyden led the scoring offensively, going 9 of 13 from the field and scoring 19 points. He also had four assists in the game. Sophomore Timothy Wendel had a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds in the game, along with two assists and three steals. Josh Volness made three three-pointers in the game as he scored 15 points to go with his six rebounds and four assists. 

In their first home game as members of the Storm, D'Andre Caster and Christian Moore both scored in double figures; Moore had 14 points/six rebounds/three assists in the game, and Caster added 12 points (on an incredible six of seven from the field) and two steals. Starting guard Trey Peace made all three of his shots and rebounded the ball well, with seven in the match. Logan Strand also added three assists in the game. 

The Storm defense held Cornell to only 18 made field goals on 61 attempts and forced twelve turnovers. Crown shot only 14% from three in the first half but moved that total up to 40% from three in the second half. 

Crown next plays on Tuesday with Trinity Bible College coming to town.