New Ulm, Minn. — Crown went to Martin Luther on Wednesday seeking their seventh UMAC win of their past eight UMAC games as they faced the Martin Luther Knights in New Ulm. The Knights held a first-half lead by a point, but Crown was able to hang tight and pull away mid-way through the second half, winning 76-64. 

Senior Austin VanDerHeyden had an outstanding performance with an incredible 22 points in the first half on 9/10 shooting and ended the game with 25 points, 12 boards, four assists, a steal and a block. Sophomore Tim Wendel also had a 20-point double-double, with 22 points and 13 rebounds. Senior Trey Peace led the team in assists with six, and also added nine points and six boards. Sophomore Kole Jusczak had a season-high five assists along with six points in the matchup. First-year Christian Moore was in double figures with eleven points, five rebounds, and three assists as he started for the injured Josh Volness. 

Crown played an impressive game with no player recording more than two turnovers and won despite shooting uncharacteristically poor from three-point range (not quite over 20%). Along with a lack of turnovers was the fact that Crown passed for twenty assists as ball movement was key in the conference matchup. Crown held MLC to only 24 second-half points,gearing up for a UMAC Playoff run. 

With a Crown win and a UM-Morris 66-75 loss to Northwestern, Crown is now tied with the Cougars for the #4 seed in the UMAC Playoffs. Morris heads to Northland to finish out their season on Saturday, while Crown participates in the UMAC Game of the Week and Senior Night against St. Scholastica in St. Boni on Saturday. With a Crown win and a Northwestern loss, Crown can move all the way up to a #3 seed in the UMAC Playoffs and avoid Wild Card Monday entirely. If Crown ends up as the #4 seed, Wild Athletic Center will host the Wild Card (likely facing UM-Morris) on Monday.