St. Bonifacius, Minn. - The Polars men's basketball team faced off with Martin Luther College on Saturday and came out on top 83-73.
The Knights jumped out in front to an 18-8 lead after the first ten minutes of play. Crown struggled to find their rhythm on the offensive end in the first half. Martin Luther extended the lead to 14 points points, but the Polars were able to chip away after an 18-9 run by the Polars to end the half with the Knights leading 36-31.
Eight lead changes came early in the second half with neither team able to extend their lead. WIth 3:37 to play a crucial few possessions saw
Carter Behne knock down two threes,
Micah Ladd drive down the lane and score, and
Rayquan Moore drop in a bucket. Tough defense from Crown and six made free throws down the stretch gave Crown the 83-73 lead.
John Grigsby totaled 21 points with all of them coming off the three ball. Buckner also scored 21 with 9 of his points coming from the charity stripe.
Carter Behne scored 16 points.
Micah Ladd had a double digit assist day with 10. As a team Crown shot 40% from the field and 35.9% from three point range.
The Polars move to 9-4 on the season and 2-0 in UMAC play and will return home next Wednesday, January 15th to take on Bethany Lutheran College at 5:30pm.
