St. Bonifacius, Minn. – The men's basketball team hosted the Bethany Lutheran College Vikings on Saturday afternoon, earning an 80–67 win behind balanced scoring and another dominant effort from Tyler Smith.
The Polars led wire to wire, jumping out to an early first-half lead that they never relinquished. Crown stretched the lead to double digits several times in the opening half, but missed scoring opportunities allowed the Vikings to cut the deficit to seven points heading into halftime. In the second half, Bethany Lutheran trimmed Crown's lead to five on a handful of occasions, but the Polars responded by pushing the advantage back to 11 points. That margin held for much of the remainder of the game as the teams traded baskets. Crown went 10-for-12 from the free-throw line in the second half, with most of those attempts coming in the final two minutes, extending the lead to 13 by the final horn.
Anthony Knight led the Polars in scoring once again with 17 points, while also grabbing six rebounds and dishing out five assists. Tyler Smith, who recorded a triple-double in Crown's previous game, may have put together his most impressive stat line of the season, finishing with 10 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double, along with eight assists and seven blocked shots. Crown showcased one of its most balanced scoring performances of the season, with all five starters scoring in double figures. Parker Behne tallied 14 points and five rebounds, while Colby Deluce added 13 points and five boards. Tristan Youngblood continued his strong shooting from beyond the arc, going 3-for-6 and finishing with 12 points. The Polars also received solid contributions off the bench, as Levi Royston posted six points and six rebounds, while Donovon Washington and Joe Sullivan each chipped in four points.
The Polars will travel for two straight games before returning home for the final three games of the regular season. On Wednesday, they head to the University of Minnesota Morris before traveling to North Central University on Saturday.
