ST. BONIFACIUS, Minn. – Minnesota Morris (9-8, 6-3 UMAC) won their fifth straight UMAC game, edging Crown (2-14, 1-8 UMAC) by a score of 83-81. CD Douglas led Morris with 23 points, eight assists and six rebounds. Noah Grove tacked on 13 and John Haseman added 11.
 
Morris would lead for nearly the whole first half but it was still a tight contest. The Storm would stay within two possessions for all but 26 seconds of game action.
 
Halfway through the first half Morris built up a 22-16 lead. With about five minutes to play in the half the Storm had cut the lead to three but a corner three from Grove put Morris back up by six. Crown would take advantage of a UMM technical foul and tied the game up at 33. The Cougars finished the half on an 8-2 run, capped off by a three point play from Douglas just before the buzzer.
 
Crown started the second half with an 8-2 run erasing the Cougars lead and tying the game at 43. Haseman would help Morris grab the lead back with a three pointer but the Storm responded with a three, tying the game back up. A quick 6-0 run by the Storm helped them grab their first lead of the game with 13:44 left.
 
Dylan Erickson hit a three to give the Cougars a 61-60 lead with 12:33 left and Morris never trailed the rest of the way. The lead would grow to eight on a couple occasions but the Storm made it interesting late. They would end the game on a 6-0 run but came up short on two late attempts to tie the game.
 
The Cougar bench provided a big lift on Saturday scoring 25 points. The Cougars also dominated the paint, outscoring the Storm 44-18.
 
Morris has a pair of big home games next week when they host Northwestern and North Central at the P.E. Center.