St. Bonifacius, Minn. — It was all smiles in St. Boni today after Crown's men's basketball clinched a berth in the UMAC Playoffs, their first birth since the 2013-14 season, which Crown beat UM-Morris in the first round, but ultimately fell to Northwestern in the championship game. Crown is now two games up on Northland (who sits in the place behind Crown), and took the tiebreaker over Northland, giving them the lock on the five-seed in the playoffs. While they locked the five-seed, there is still a chance that they pass UM-Morris or Northwestern and host a wild-card game in St. Bonifacius if they win out. 

Senior Austin VanDerHeyden had an incredible game with 32 points on 14/20 from the field. He also gathered nine rebounds and had two blocks in a game where he was virtually unguardable.

"I've never been more proud of a group of guys," said VanDerHeyden, relishing in an opportunity to compete in the UMAC Postseason. "It feels so good to be in the playoffs and to hopefully set a standard for Crown basketball. We knew it wouldn't be easy; Northland is always a tough game. We made the plays it took to win the game, and we played as a team. When we do that, we feel as though nobody can stop us. We aren't done yet, and it's so great to have the support of the whole school. Playoffs baby!"

Sophomore Tim Wendel scored 21 points on 9-16 from the field along with five boards, three assists, a block and three steals as he filled up the stat sheet. "It's great to be a part of a team that knows how to fight hard," said Wendel, who has compiled over 50 points in his past two games. "We were 2-5 in conference, but we worked hard and never gave up. Just shows how resilient this group of guys are. Shout-out to the fans!" 

Junior guard Josh Volness had 14 points on seven attempts (3/5 from three), but unfortunately left the game early in the second half with an injury after a hard foul. Senior Trey Peace only scored two points, but had eight assists, six rebounds, and a steal as he commanded the offense well. Crown's passing as a whole was stellar in this matchup, with 18 total assists. 

First-year Christian Moore scored 13 points off the bench on 5/8 from the field, and also added seven boards and three assists. Fellow first-year Kevin Kim had six made free throws in only five minutes of game time. 

Crown held Northland to only 39% from the field and 28% from three, while shooting 57% from the field and 50% from three-point range. Crown now is 8-6 in the UMAC and has won seven of their past eight UMAC games. Crown looks to next week where they face Martin Luther away and then St. Scholastica at home, two games that will likely decide playoff seeding.