NEW ULM, Minn. --- Crown Men's Basketball defeated the Martin Luther Knights on Wednesday evening easily 88-60 to improve to 5-6 in Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) play and gets them closer to a third consecutive playoff berth. Down 20-13 with 12 minutes to go in the first half, the Storm went on one of their hottest shooting spells of the year and ended up leading 42-22, a 29-2 run for Crown. The Knights attempted a comeback in the second half, but could never gain enough momentum to take the lead as the Storm took the contest. 

Shooting 11/19 from the field, senior Tim Wendel had a fantastic game for Crown scoring 26 points, grabbing 12 rebounds, dishing six assists, grabbing three steals and blocking a shot in the contest as he continues to climb the Storm record books. On Saturday against #16 UW-La Crosse, Wendel became the Storm's all-time leading rebounder passing Austin VanDerHeyden's 764 rebounds. After facing the Knights, Wendel now has 782 rebounds in his career and could potentially be the sole member of the Storm's 800-rebound club. 

Also scoring in double figures for the Storm was sophomore Seth Royston, who has continued to improve since being entered in the starting lineup. This was his first Crown game in double figures and it was on an impressive 5/8 from the field. Senior wing Gunnar Ledin scored ten points to help the Storm and reached double figures for the 13th time this season. 

Off the bench, first-year point guard Alec Testerman scored nine points on a perfect 4/4 from the field which included one three-point make in the highest-scoring game of his collegiate career. Junior Christian Moore scored eight points in the contest; both sophomore Sawyer Lawhon and senior Josh Royston splashed two threes to score six points apiece. 

Finishing out the scoring for the Storm was Zach Skorik (four points), Nathan Cantrell (four points), and Torry Ledin (three points). The Storm shot an impressive 40% from three-point range on a high-volume 35 attempted threes. In addition, they shot 47% overall from the field for an incredibly efficient day for the Storm offense. 

Next up for the Storm is St. Scholastica on Saturday at the Wild Athletic Center, a big matchup that will potentially decide who hosts the opening round of the UMAC Playoffs.