St. Bonifacius, Minn. – The Crown men's basketball team used another incredible defensive performance and a huge run to start the second half to ease past visiting Martin Luther on Friday night.  The Storm had 18 players see the floor and 12 contribute to the scoring as they took an 87-58 victory. 

Crown led 38-24 at the break on the back of another stellar defensive performance and dominant output on the glass.  Crown held MLC to 30% shooting in the first half but struggled on the offensive end themselves and had to settle for a 14 point halftime advantage. 

Crown opened the second half on fire and continued to lock up the Knights on the defensive end.  A 20-2 run saw Crown lead by 30 with 12:41 to play.  That lead would grow to as many as 39 as Crown emptied the bench with only two players eclipsing 20 minutes for the game. 

Jacob Van Dam had his first career double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds, and Cade Carroll racked up 18 points in just 17 minutes, scoring 10 in a quick barrage to start the second half before taking a seat for good with over 17:30 remaining in the contest. 

The win moves Crown's conference record to 3-2 and places the team third in the UMAC standings.  Crown will look to continue their momentum in a pivotal conference matchup with Bethany Lutheran tomorrow afternoon.