Decorah, Iowa - The Crown men traveled to Decorah, Iowa Wednesday night to face Luther College. The Polars fell short 48-53 in the second of five straight road games to start the season.

The game got off to a slow start offensively for both teams, but Crown had the slight early advantage. The held a slight lead for most of the first thirteen minutes of the game, but the last seven minutes was all Luther, ending the half on a 14-4 run to take a 21-15 lead into halftime. Crown stormed back, taking the lead just four minutes into the second half. After some back-and-forth, Luther would go on a short run midway through the half, and led by as much as eight. Crown responded again and brought the game within one with under three minutes to play. The Polars were able to tie the game at 48 with 1:16 remaining, but Luther responded right away to take a two point lead with 52 seconds remaining. A key turnover with under 10 seconds for the Polars put them in foul mode to extend the game. Luther went 3-4 from the line in the last 6 seconds to end the game on a 5-0 run and win by a score of 53-48. 

Although low-scoring, this was an exciting game with 12 ties and 12 lead changes. The Polars were extremely balanced in the points column as seven Polars scored, each with five or more points. Colby Deluce and Tristan Youngblood led the scoring with 9 each. Anthony Knight also had 8. Tyler Smith led the rebounding with 7, and Knight dealt out five assists with five steals. The Polars were dominant on the offensive glass, which led to an 8-2 advantage in second chance points. 

The Polars continue on the road on Saturday as they travel with the Women's team to Watertown, WI to play Maranatha Baptist University at 5pm.  Read Full Article