St. Paul, Minn. – The Crown men's basketball team earned a tough 68-65 road win at Macalester College on Wednesday night, edging a much-improved Scots team who was 3-1 on the season heading into the night and had boasted wins over UMAC opponents Martin Luther and Minnesota Morris.  The Storm were still short handed due to health and safety protocols but used an excellent defensive performance to propel them to the non-conference victory. 

Seven players appeared in the game for Crown, with Cade Carroll and Micah Ladd each playing the full 40 minutes and Alec Testerman and Jacob Van Dam clocking 38 and 36 minutes respectively.  A balanced scoring attack included four players in double-figures, led by 23 points from Carroll and highlighted by eleven points off the bench from Cole Andersen. 

On a night where Crown struggled from the field, Andersen provided a massive scoring spark, shooting 4-5 from the field, going 2-2 at the free throw line, and nailing a clutch three pointer at the halftime buzzer.  The senior also contributed six rebounds.
Starting guards Ladd and Testerman scored 12 and eleven points respectively and combined to go 8-16 from the field with 10 rebounds. 

After leading by nine at the half and by as many as ten points with 16:12 remaining, Crown found themselves down by five points with 10:16 left.  Crown struggled mightily during Macalester's run, missing 12 consecutive shots and getting just two Andersen free throws in an over six-minute span.

An old-fashioned three point play by Testerman and a Carroll three cut the deficit to a single point, and the game would be tight the rest of the way.

After Crown held a narrow lead, Macalester tied things up at 63-63 with just 1:13 remaining.  On the next trip down, Ladd drove left and got an eight foot floater to go and Crown wouldn't relinquish the lead, surviving a half-court heave by Macalester at the buzzer to secure a three point victory. 

The win pushes Crown's record to 3-2 on the season as the team prepares to head to the Carroll Pre-Thanksgiving Classic in Waukesha, Wisconsin this weekend for a pair of games.