ST. BONIFACIUS, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris men's basketball team earned a 90–75 win over Crown College in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference Game of the Week on Wednesday night in St. Bonifacius, Minn.
 
The Cougars improve to 8–9 overall and 3–1 in the UMAC, while the Polars fall to 8–8 overall and 2–2 in conference play.
 
The Polars opened the game by scoring the first four points. Matt Thompson answered with a six-point run to give UMM its first lead. Kaden Pieper followed with a layup, and Thomas Tiernan knocked down a three-pointer to keep the Cougars in front. Jase Nelson scored his first points on a layup, and Carvin Fish completed a three-point play to extend the lead to four. Crown briefly regained the lead, but Pieper answered for the fifth lead change in the first 10 minutes. Nelson then sparked another lead change, forcing a Crown timeout. The Cougars went on an eight-point run with Tiernan and Pieper connecting from beyond the arc. The Polars tied the game at 36–36 with two minutes remaining, but Tiernan responded with a three-pointer on the next possession. Pieper and Fish added late baskets to give UMM a 43–38 lead heading into halftime.
 
Fish opened the second half with a basket to keep the lead at five. Crown responded to tie the game, but Fish answered with a layup on the other end. Tiernan followed with a basket to push the advantage back to double digits. Gustav Gunderson scored a driving layup for his first points of the game, and Thompson connected from behind the arc before converting a free throw to give the Cougars an eight-point edge. Thompson later extended the lead to 11 with another three-pointer. LeRoy Staples-Fairbanks IV grabbed an offensive rebound and put it back for his first points of the night. After Crown hit a big shot, Fish responded with a three-pointer to surpass 20 points. Minnesota Morris continued to match Crown's scoring to maintain a double-digit lead. Brian LaRoche, Jr. scored his first points of the season with a three-pointer, extending the lead to 15 with under eight minutes remaining. The Cougars held on from there to secure the 90–75 victory.
 
Fish recorded his 11th game with 20 or more points, leading Minnesota Morris with 28. The sophomore forward shot 12-for-18 from the field, 1-of-5 from three-point range, and 3-of-4 from the free-throw line. As a team, the Cougars shot 54.7 percent from the field, 42.1 percent from three, and 80 percent from the free-throw line. Pieper followed with 18 points, Thompson added 15, and Tiernan scored a season-high 14. Gunderson and Thompson each tallied five assists.
 
Defensively, Fish recorded his third double-double of the season with a game-high 10 rebounds. Pieper added seven rebounds as UMM outrebounded Crown 32–30. Thompson led the team with two steals, while Fish also recorded three blocks.
 
The Cougars return to action Saturday when they host the University of Wisconsin–Superior with a 4:45 p.m. tip.