Mankato, Minn. – The Polar men had a successful Wednesday evening, traveling to Bethany Lutheran and coming home with a 78-69 victory.
It did not take the Polars' leading scorer, Anthony Knight, long to get on the board, as he knocked down a reverse layup on the first possession of the game. The Vikings then responded with a three-pointer to take the lead. A few possessions later, Colby Deluce came off a screen to knock down a 15-foot jumper to take the lead back, but again the Vikings responded with a three-pointer. This caused an early Polar timeout as the teams traded buckets.
Following the timeout, the Vikings slowly pulled away, eventually taking a 24-14 lead with 10 minutes remaining in the first half. This was part of a 17-6 Viking run, as they led by as many as 16 points in the half. Crown responded well, going on a 15-4 run to finish the half. This cut the Viking lead to just five, as the Polars trailed 36-31 at halftime.
Both teams traded buckets to start the second half, but a layup from Joe Sullivan, followed by back-to-back three-pointers from Donovan Washington and Anthony Knight, tied the game at 50 as the Vikings gave up the lead for the first time since the Polars led 4-3.
Down the stretch, Donovan Washington was huge for the Polars, knocking down two free throws to give Crown the lead for the first time in the half. A few possessions later, he came up with a steal and converted it into points on the other end, stretching the Polar lead to six. A few minutes later, Parker Behne caught fire, scoring eight straight Polar points, including back-to-back three-pointers. Tristan Youngblood then finished an and-one to push the Polar lead to double digits at 69-59 with just over five minutes remaining.
Behne went 4-for-4 from the free-throw line the rest of the way, sealing a nine-point, 78-69 road victory as the Polars picked up their first conference win of the season. Behne and Anthony Knight each finished with a game-high 19 points. Knight also added six rebounds, four assists, and a steal. Washington came off the bench to score 13 points and added five steals, stopping numerous Viking fast-break opportunities throughout the game. Tyler Smith contributed six points, 15 rebounds, and five assists, while also recording two more blocks.
As a team, Crown shot 16-of-18 from the free-throw line and outscored the Vikings 20-13 in points off turnovers. Those advantages proved to be the difference, as the Polars capitalized on Viking mistakes throughout the game.
The Polars will host their first home conference game of the season on Saturday, January 14, as North Central comes to town. The game is scheduled for 2:45 p.m. and will follow the Polar women's game, which tips off at 1:00 p.m.
