St. Bonifacius, Minn. – The Polars headed into Christmas break hosting the Lakeland University Muskies on Friday night, falling by a final score of 77–59.

Lakeland's pressure was felt early as the Muskies jumped out to an 8–0 lead. The Polars responded and eventually evened the score at 9–9, but Lakeland slowly pulled away for the remainder of the opening quarter, taking a 27–16 advantage into the second. The scoring pace was one the Polars had not yet seen this season, but they worked to stay within striking distance.

The second quarter featured much more back-and-forth play. The Polars trimmed the deficit to as few as seven points, but Lakeland again outscored Crown in the period, extending its lead to 47–32 at halftime.

After a tighter second quarter, the teams played evenly in the third. A free throw in the closing seconds allowed the Muskies to maintain a 15-point advantage heading into the fourth. Crown held Lakeland to just 14 points in the quarter, the fewest points allowed in any period of the game.

The fourth quarter mirrored the third, with Lakeland narrowly outscoring the Polars 16–14. The Muskies' early 11-point edge from the first quarter proved to be the difference, as they outscored Crown by just seven points combined over the final three quarters.

Brayli Reimer led the Polars with a game-high 27 points and added eight rebounds, shooting an efficient 11-for-19 from the field. Freshman Morgan Bednarek contributed 10 points and six rebounds before leaving the game with an injury. Jacee Glasgow finished with 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting, including 1-of-3 from beyond the arc.

The Polars will have 11 days off before traveling to California over the break for two games. Crown will face the University of La Verne on Tuesday, December 30, followed by a matchup with Chapman University on Wednesday, December 31.