MORRIS, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris men's basketball team staged a huge rally in the second half to notch a 79-68 win over Crown College on Saturday afternoon at James Gremmels Court. The win for the Cougars – their third straight – puts the team at 10-7 overall and 5-3 in the UMAC on the season.

Opening baskets from Ian Carlin and a three-pointer from Noah Kannegiesser gave Minnesota Morris a 7-2 lead in just 90 seconds. Crown responded by knotting the score at 9-9 and then added another 9-0 to go up, 18-11, by the midway point of the first half. 

Tarik Iyob injected some energy into the contest with his play off the bench and Minnesota Morris twice pulled within a point before another big Crown run pushed the Polars out into a double-digit lead at 31-21. Crown went to the break holding a 42-33 edge.

Pal Dak began the second half with a three-point play, but Crown would soon take its largest lead of the day as a 9-2 run made it 53-38 with a little over 17 minutes remaining. The Minnesota Morris comeback began quietly, with baskets from Carlin and Jaret Johnson keeping the Cougars in it. A dunk from Kenny Placide then brought some life to the crowd and the deficit back into single-digits at 55-46. The surge continued with Kannegiesser pouring in points from the mid-range. The Cougars then took the lead on a three-pointer – the second and final one of the day for the team – from Jarrett Kujava to go up, 59-57.

A steal and fast-break layup for Cade Carroll tied the game at 59-59, but Minnesota Morris was rolling offensively and a 15-0 run ensued as the Cougars kept Crown scoreless for the next four minutes. By the time the Polars got back on the board, their deficit was 12 and little more than three minutes were left in the contest. Minnesota Morris scored its final five points from the charity stripe to ice the game.

Kannegiesser finished with a game-high 27 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field. Dak ended with 17 points and Carlin had 14. 

Minnesota Morris concludes non-conference play on Monday night by hosting Macalester College at James Gremmels Court beginning at 7 p.m.