ST. BONIFACIUS, Minn. --- In the opening round of the UMAC Playoffs, #4-seeded Crown Men's Basketball completed their revenge against the #5-seeded UM-Morris Cougars 78-71 after falling to the Cougars last year in the same situation. After a back and forth start, the Storm took the lead and held it though the last quarter of the game in front of a packed Wild Athletic Center crowd. Crown advances to the UMAC semifinals and head to Northwestern on Wednesday; that game tips at 7 p.m. 

"[This win] feels great, I can't even put it into words; I'm speechless," said junior forward Gunnar Ledin in a postgame interview. "It's a fun group of guys, we wanted this one so bad. I'm so happy right now, I love it." 

It was an emotional game and a heartfelt win, and that could be seen by the players and fans throughout the game. 

"The home crowd was great, they kept us in it," said Timothy Wendel. "They've been with us all year, the best sixth man in the league and we plan on getting another one Wednesday." 

Junior Timothy Wendel led the Storm with an incredible 34 points on 67% shooting (5/8 from downtown), which brought his playoff average up to 27.5 points per game. Wendel grabbed 12 rebounds for his 13th double-double of the season. This contest was Wendel's fifth time this season eclipsing the 30-point mark. However, when asked about his performance, he deferred to talk about the play of his teammates. 

"[This game] took a lot of grit," Wendel continued. "We made a lot of tough plays. Josh [Volness] stepped up. It was a lot of adversity, the story of the season." 

Senior guard Josh Volness had an impressive bounce-back game after being held without a field goal on Saturday, splashing in five three-point attempts, scoring 21 points, and shooting a remarkable 70% from the field. Like Wendel, he can't wait for Wednesday's semifinal matchup.

"We have a big game [on] Wednesday," said Volness. "We split with [Northwestern] this year, and hopefully, we can defeat them again."

Filling out the starting five, Gunnar Ledin scored seven points in the contest and led the team with two blocks. Senior guard Keegan Oyugi had eight points and seven assists, his sixth time getting seven or more assists this season. Junior Kole Jusczak added four points on 67% shooting and grabbed six boards. 

On the bench, sophomore Christian Moore had the only scoring with two points and grabbed eight boards. Seniors D'Andre Caster and Logan Strand also received playing time in the matchup as the Storm went eight-deep.

The Storm advance to the next round and face the top-seeded University of Northwestern Eagles in Roseville at 7 p.m. The Storm split with the Eagles this year, and are Northwestern's lone conference loss.

Notes: The Storm led 68.9% of the game, and maintained a lead for the last 12 minutes. Second chance points per a struggle for the Storm, allowing 18 offensive rebounds to the Cougars and 19 points off those boards. On the break, the Storm outscored the Cougars 12-4. Crown shot well from the field making 51% of their field goal attempts and 44% of their three-point attempts. However, they only shot 61% from the free throw line. Despite only shooting 61% from the free throw line, the Storm outshot the Cougars from the charity stripe as Morris made 45% of their free throws (including multiple on the front end of the one-and-one.)