ST. BONIFACIUS, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris had no problem putting the ball in the basket on Thursday, the problem was just holding onto it. Though the Cougars shot better than 57 percent from the field as a team, Crown College forced them into 27 turnovers and pulled away in the second half for an 87-70 win. UMN Morris returns home for three straight at Jim Gremmels Court with a 1-4 mark both overall and in the UMAC.

UMN Morris trailed but was within striking distance for much of the early going. An and-one layup from Christian Moore put Crown ahead, 20-15, but back-to-back buckets from Ian Carlin and a three-pointer from Dillon Haider helped knot the score at 22-22. Garrett Kujava followed with a triple of his own and when Haider connected on another three a few minutes later, the Cougars had their largest lead of the night at 29-24. The Storm answered back with an 8-0 run and the lead see-sawed throughout the remainder of the half. A three-pointer from Pal Dak just before the break leveled the score once again at 43-43.

Though Minnesota Morris had hit 16-of-24 (.667) shots in the first half, 11 turnovers allowed Crown to hang around. Things got worse for the Cougars after halftime. A turnover on the first possession of the second half was a sign of things to come. Great shooting from UMN Morris kept the Cougars in the game for awhile, but a 14-0 run from Crown turned a 58-58 game into a comfortable lead and the Cougars would get no closer than seven the rest of the way.

Carlin led Minnesota Morris with a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds. Jaret Johnson tacked on 13 points and Will McBee came off the bench to score 10. 

The first game of a three-game home stand comes on Saturday as the Cougars host Bethany Lutheran College at 3 p.m.