St. Paul, Minn. - The Polars men's basketball team faced off with the Bethel Royals on Thursday night and fell by a score of 89-88.
The story of the first half was Crown jumping out to a 31-12 lead after Parker Behne caught fire knocking down three triples to give the Polars the commanding lead. The Royals struggled to cut into the deficit throughout the first half as the Polars held the 50-32 lead at the break.
Crown held the large lead for the first part of the second half after a John Grigsby bucket out the Polars up 66-49 with 13:17 to go. With under 10 minutes remaining Bethel slowing inches closer and closer until they tied the score at 78-78 with just under five minutes to play. Both teams traded baskets in the final minutes and after a Tyrus Buckner layup Crown led 88-87 with 50 seconds to play. A few missed free throws from the Polars and a few makes from Bethel saw the final score favor the Royals 89-88.
Buckner dominated with 25 points and 7 rebounds going a near perfect 11-12 from the field. Parker Behne had one of his best games in a Polars uniform scoring 20 points going 6-7 from three point range. Micah Ladd tallied 11 assists tying the single game school record.
The Polars fall to 7-3 on the season and will next face off with St. Thomas on the road in an exhibition contest on Sunday, December 15th at 2pm.
