ST. BONIFACIUS, Minn. --- Crown Men's Basketball defeated the University of Northwestern 76-62 on Thursday night as the Storm took out the 8-2 (4-1 UMAC) Eagles. The Storm took the lead late in the first half, and never looked back, hitting threes and playing stellar defense to take their fourth conference win.
Senior guard Micah Moan led the Storm with 18 points, seven rebounds, and six assists despite battling foul trouble. Moan shot a ridiculous 80% from three-point range on five attempts. Despite what you may think, Moan did not have the best shooting performance of the team. That honor goes to first-year Jacob Van Dam, after Van Dam hit five triples on six tries to score 15 for Crown, a career-high for the Edgerton native. His previous collegiate high score was eight points, which he easily surpassed against the crosstown rival. Even more impressive for Van Dam, he's been balancing practicing baseball and basketball with the Storm Baseball season opener on Saturday.
The Storm shot 38% from three-point range with 12 made three-point attempts, commanded by Moan and Van Dam's nine makes. Along with the outside shot falling, Crown dominated the points in the paint, outscoring the Eagles 32-14.
Junior Seth Royston scored 14 points and led the team with four blocks, joining Moan and Van Dam in double figures. Sophomore Cade Carroll provided a spark from the bench with eight points and five rebounds in his second game this season. Led by Carroll and Van Dam, the Storm's bench outperformed the Eagles handily, scoring 33 points to Northwestern's 14.
Senior Christian Moore added eight points and matched Moan's team-high of seven rebounds. Junior Cade Neubert and first-year Quincy Wilson didn't miss a single shot from the field, combining for ten points in the contest. Senior Micah Ladd finished the Storm scoring performance, added five assists, and led the stellar Crown defensive effort.
The Storm will now move into the UMAC Playoffs; with other conference games scheduled on Saturday, the field is not entirely set, but the Storm are likely to be the No. 5 or No. 6 seed heading to the No. 4 or No. 3 seed next Thursday.
