ST. BONIFACIUS, Minn. – The University of Northwestern men's basketball team hit the road to take on Crown College in Wednesday night Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) action. The Eagles fell to the Storm, 96-82 in final scoring.
Northwestern falls to 5-4 on the year as Crown hands them their first UMAC loss (2-1). The Storm improve to 7-3 on the year and boast a 2-0 start to conference action.
Crown scored first and never lost the lead. A pair of early three-pointers gave the Storm an 11-point lead, which the Eagles managed to cut to three midway through the half. Despite the comeback efforts, Crown entered the half up by 15 after holding Northwestern scoreless in the final two and half minutes.
The Eagles upped their offense in the second half, outscoring the purple and white 46-45 and draining five shots from three-point range. A last chance comeback came a little too late, as Crown held on to a 10-point lead and connected on free throws down the stretch.
Northwestern was led in scoring by
Michael Moore (Twinsburg, Ohio/Twinsburg) who finished with a career-best 30 points. The freshman guard went 12 for 19 from the field and drained four shots from beyond the arc.
Caleb Hageman (Charles City, Iowa/Charles City) and
Anderson Bazile Jr. (Houston, Tex./San Antonio Reagan) each added 13 points on the night, while
Tanner Youngberg (Pocahontas, Iowa/Pocahontas Area) recorded 12 points and 10 rebounds – his fifth double-double this season.
Crown's Timothy Wendel was the game's high-scorer, finishing with 40 points and 13 rebounds.
Northwestern will return to action on Saturday, Dec. 15 when they host Buena Vista University. Tipoff is slated for 3 p.m. against the Beavers who are 3-4 this season.
Follow all things UNW men's basketball this year by visiting
www.unweagles.com or on Twitter and Instagram at @unwmbb.
