Mankato, Minn. – The Crown College men's basketball team lost for just the second time in eight games on Friday night, falling to Bethany Lutheran 102-77.  The Vikings exploded for 63 second half points, shooting 64% in the period including a 5-6 mark from downtown. 

Crown got 20-point performances from Cade Carroll and Jacob Van Dam who had 20 and 21 respectively, but were outdone by big performances from Hunter Nielsen and Brian Smith of the Vikings. 

The Storm struggled from the three point line, making just four of 26 attempts for the game and shot just 39.1% overall.  The loss drops Crown a game behind Bethany into third place in the conference with just three regular season games remaining. 

Crown will look to bounce back with a game at Martin Luther as the away portion of the UMAC schedule concludes on Saturday.