Joplin, Mo. – The Crown men's basketball team ended their season one step shy of a national championship on Saturday, falling by a score of 89-79 to Campbellsville-Harrodsburg in the NCCAA Division II national championship game. 

Having lost 1^st Team All-American Cade Carroll to a broken wrist the night before, Crown received a boost with the arrival of Jacob Van Dam, who had missed the first two games of the tournament while with the Crown baseball team.  The sophomore, and Crown's second-leading scorer on the season came off the bench as the group of Micah Ladd, Alec Testerman, Drew Burnett, Jacob Masek, and Seth Royston got the start.

Crown played the Pioneers to a stalemate in the first half and went into the break with the score tied at 39 apiece. 

The number two seed opened the second half on a 9-0 run and built as much as a 12 point lead with 12:47 remaining in the game.  Despite a furious comeback that saw Crown cut the lead to just four on two occasions, the Storm couldn't get all the way back.

Royston, who was named to the All-Tournament team, led the team with 18 points and Carter Behne had the best game of his college career, scoring 17 points and leading the team with seven rebounds.  Van Dam scored 12 in a gutsy performance and Masek also hit double-figures with eleven.  The starting guards Ladd and Testerman each had nine. 

Crown finishes the season with an NCAA-era record-tying 17 wins, but came up just short in both the UMAC championship game and the NCCAA national championship. 

The team is set to return many key players but will say goodbye to Drew Burnett, Dylan Gilmer, Cam Reece, and Cody Christenson, seniors who have been foundational to Crown's success.
The Crown players and coaching staff would like to thank all of our family, friends, and fans for their incredible support this year.