ST. PAUL, Minn. – The University of Northwestern men's basketball team welcomed Crown College to the Ericksen Center for the UMAC season opener. The Eagles shot 43% from the field led by Noah Alm (Forest Lake, Minn./Forest Lake) with a season-best 30 point performance to cruise to a 94-83 win over the Storm.
 
The Eagles improve to 4-4 on the year, 1-0 in the UMAC as Crown falls to 1-7 (0-1) this season.
 
Noah Alm (Forest Lake, Minn./Forest Lake) spearheaded an early Eagle lead, dropping 10 of UNW's first 14 points. Tanner Youngberg (Pocahontas, Iowa/Pocahontas Area) connected on a jumper from the elbow to extend the Northwestern lead to eight (18-10) with just over 12 minutes remaining.
 
Tanner Youngberg (Pocahontas, Iowa/Pocahontas Area) took over the scoring efforts late in the half, finishing with a team-best 12 points in the first 20 minutes as UNW entered the half up 39-26. The Storm suffered inconsistent shooting – connecting on just 24% of shots from beyond the arc and 30% from the field.
 
Crown put the first four points on the board in second half play to pull within nine (39-30), but the Eagles quickly bounced back. Noah Alm (Forest Lake, Minn./Forest Lake) put together a quick five points and Solomon Bach (Watertown, S.D./Watertown) followed up with 12 straight of his own to extend the lead to a game-best 56-39.
 
The Storm managed to cut the lead to six (62-56) and pulled within four on a pair of free throws from Tim Wendel. Clutch shooting from Alm allowed UNW to regain a double-digit lead as the Eagles cruised to a 94-83 win.
 
Noah Alm (Forest Lake, Minn./Forest Lake) shot an impressive six of eight from three-point range and connected on all four free throw attempts to score a season-high 30 points. Tanner Youngberg (Pocahontas, Iowa/Pocahontas Area) added 20 points on the night, alongside 13 boards.
 
Solomon Bach (Watertown, S.D./Watertown) also recorded a double-double for UNW, tacking on 16 points and 12 rebounds. Michael Moore (Twinsburg, Ohio/Twinsburg) finished with 14 points and dished out five assists.
 
The Eagles got to the line 31 times, making 22 attempts. Crown shot just 14 free throws in the contest.
 
UNW will return to action on Saturday, Dec. 7 when they travel to New Ulm, Minn. to take on Martin Luther College. Tipoff is slated for 3 p.m.
 
Follow the Eagles online all season long at www.unweagles.com or on Twitter and Instagram at @unwmbb.