ST. BONIFACIUS, Minn. --- Crown Men's Basketball won a thrilling game against the North Central Rams on Saturday evening 126-115. The game featured 21 lead changes, two overtimes, clutch shots, milestones reached, and everything needed for a legendary game at the lively Wild Athletic Center. 

The game was nearly tied after a relatively low-scoring first half, with the Storm down only a single point 36-35. In the second half, both teams picked up the pace and the shots began to fall, with the Storm outscoring them in the half 55-54 forcing the game into extra time after NCU's first-year Micah Filer hit a tough corner three to tie the game with only a couple seconds remaining. 

Off the momentum of Filer's shot to send the game to overtime, the Rams took an early lead in the second period, only to have the Storm match it later in the five-minute period. Both teams scored eleven in the first overtime, as North Central held the ball for the last shot attempt that didn't touch the rim. 

In the second overtime period, Crown scored an incredible 25 points (note that the period is only five minutes.) Fifteen of those points came on free throws at the end of the period as North Central attempted to come back on a six-point lead with a little more than two minutes remaining. During those free throws, senior Josh Volness surpassed 14 points in the game, joining him in the Crown Basketball 1,000 Point Club. Volness is the second Crown athlete to join that club this year. After the period the fans stayed after to celebrate Volness' accomplishment.

"It was a good team win, a lot of people stepped up," said Volness. "It was a big-time accomplishment to get 1,000 [points]. I worked hard to get here, took four years but I finally got [the mark]."

Volness wasn't the only player to mount achievement in the game, with Kole Jusczak achieving a rare 15-15 game (where the athlete has 15 points and rebounds in a single contest). Both were season highs. 

"We got this win with a great team effort on the defensive end," said Jusczak. "We were help-side all night, got the boards we needed to and we made free throws down the stretch to get the great win here."

Sophomore Christian Moore was Crown's leading scorer in the match, with his career-high 23 points off the bench (Moore was not included in the late free throw shooting). Junior Timothy Wendel, the other Storm athlete to join the 1,000 point club this year, had 20 points in the game, and ten boards for his twelfth double-double of the season. 

Senior guard Keegan Oyugi had 17 points in the contest, and a team-high seven assists, many assists coming in crucial moments as he continues to prove his strength for clutch play. Brothers Gunnar Ledin and Torry Ledin both were in double figures, with 14 points for the former, and 10 for the latter. Both G. Ledin and Wendel had three blocked shots in the contest. 

The Storm made free throws when it counted, shooting 85% from the line in the final period and 80% in the game. The difference in the contes came from the bench, with the Storm bench outscoring the Rams bench 44-16. Despite not having a conference win, North Central has been staying with teams in the conference, losing close games all season. Crown improves to 6-4 in UMAC play. The Storm now head to UM-Morris for another conference matchup on Wednesday. The men return home the following Saturday for a game with the UW-Superior Yellowjackets.