Storm holds off Cougars in UMAC men's quarterfinal
ST. BONIFACIUS, Minn.---The 2018-19 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) men’s basketball tournament kicked off with a rematch of the previous season's quarterfinal game as No. 4 Crown College hosted a No. 5 University of Minnesota Morris squad that squeaked into the field in the final seconds of the regular season Saturday.
While much of the setting was the same, the outcome was different as No. 4 Crown was able to get revenge against No. 5 Minnesota Morris and win the opening game of the tourney with a narrow 78-71 win after a closely-contested game Monday evening.
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A solid night shooting gave Crown the edge over Minnesota Morris as the Storm compiled a shooting percentage of 50.9 percent from the field and a 34-point performance from star Tim Wendel.
After holding a six-point lead at the half, the Storm saw the Cougars pull even with just under 13 minutes to go and within one point just under 10. However, the Storm managed to keep their distance knocking down big shots in the waning moments to grab the win and send the Cougars packing.
Wendel led all players with a 34-point, 12-rebound double-double on 12-of-18 shooting from the field and 5-of-8 from beyond the arc. Josh Volness also contributed 21 points and shot 70 percent from the field in the Storm win. Trey Heinsus tallied a double-double for the Cougars with 21 points and 10 rebounds, while Noah Grove and Jeffrey Halverson each had 15 points. The Cougars end the season with 9-18 overall.
No. 5 Crown hits the road Wednesday to face No. 1 University of Northwestern for semifinal action at 7 p.m. in St. Paul. The second semifinal will see No. 2 Bethany Lutheran College host No.3 College of St. Scholastica Wednesday evening at 7:30 p.m. in Mankato, Minnesota.
Playoff Schedule
Quarterfinal Round – Monday, Feb. 18
No. 4 Crown def. No. 5 Minnesota Morris, 78-71 |
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CC Recap |
UMM Recap |
Semifinal Round – Wednesday, Feb. 20
No. 4 Crown AT No. 1 Northwestern; St. Paul, Minn., 7 p.m. |
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Live Video |
No. 3 St. Scholastica AT No. 2 Bethany Lutheran; Mankato, Minn., 7:30 p.m. |
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Live Video |
Championship – Saturday, Feb. 23
Lowest remaining seed at highest remaining seed; Location and time, TBD
Ticket Information
All UMAC postseason events have the following set admissions prices: Adults, $10; college students and seniors, $5; youth (Age 6-18), $5; age 5 and under, FREE. Any UMAC students, faculty and staff are free with a valid and current institutional ID. No other passes will be accepted.
All tournament information including scores, recaps, team information and more can be found on the UMAC Men’s Basketball page. Keep up with all of the tournament action on Twitter and
Instagram using #UMACchamp.