Box Score CROOKSTON, Minn. – Crown College used a 21-5 run mid-way through the second half to squash an 11-point deficit and help lead them past the University of Minnesota, Crookston for their first loss of the season 56-55 at Lysaker Gymnasium Wednesday night. The Golden Eagles tried to overcome the run from the Storm but ultimately fell short as they fall to 3-1 on the season. Crown College improves to 2-2. Crown College's 7-1 center Anthony Di Loreto paced the Storm with a double-double of 29 points and 11 rebounds.

Up 29-25 over the Storm at the half, UMC used a strong opening to the second half to get out a 42-31 lead with 15:11 left in the period. Brandon Burns (Jr., F, Baton Rouge, La.) ignited the Golden Eagle run with seven points. However, Crown College would counter scoring 21 of the next 26 points in the game to overcome the double-digit UMC advantage and eventually take a 52-47 lead over the Golden Eagles with 5:37 remaining in the half.

The Golden Eagles would cut the advantage to 52-51 with 4:08 remaining following a great combination of plays from Burns with a lay-up and then a steal and a fast-break dunk.

Crown College would answer Burns' baskets as Di Loreto hit a lay-up with 3:10 remaining to give the Storm a 54-51 advantage.

UMC would answer again as a Di Loreto foul would send Almir Krdzalic (Sr., G, Sioux Falls, S.D.) to the charity stripe where he hit both to cut it to a 54-53 Storm advantage with 2:31 remaining.

With 2:01 remaining in the game, Anthijuan Beeks, Jr., hit a lay-up to put Crown College up 56-53.

After a converted jumper by the Golden Eagles' go-to player so far this season, Burns, to cut it to 56-55, UMC was able to get a steal from Krdzalic on the other end but he quickly turned it back over. However, Abdou Niang (Sr., F, Dakar, Senegal) would block a Truman Shetler shot to give it back to the Golden Eagles with 45 seconds remaining.

With nine second left, Krdzalic missed a jumper that Di Loreto quickly corralled for the Storm. The 7-1 giant was fouled by James Sparkman (R-Jr., F, Ypsilanti, Mich.). Di Loreto went to the free-throw line where he missed a one-and-one. Derrick Redd (R-Fr., G, Menifee, Calif.), who was inserted for his first action of the game, got the rebound and took it down the floor to the paint where he attempted to send the ball out to the wing but it was stolen by Shetler, who was quickly fouled by Justin Rake (Sr., G, Petal, Miss.).

Shetler went to the line where he missed the front end of a one-and-one. With two second left, Broderick Schmidt (Sr., F, Marion, S.D.) grabbed the board and quickly called the timeout. The Golden Eagles attempted to orchestrate a last second play but Schmidt's in-bounds pass went out of bounds ending the game in a 56-55 win for Crown College.

In the opening period, UMC went into the locker room with a 29-25 advantage led by Burns' eight points. The Golden Eagles shot 11-of-24 from the field for 45.8 percent compared to Crown College's 10-of-18 for 55.6 percent. Di Loreto paced the Storm in the opening half with 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting. Wednesday's game opened up with a technical foul called on the UMC bench for giving the scorer's table an incorrect starting line-up. Taylor Jones would hit 1-of-2 free throws at the start of the game to give Crown College an early 1-0 advantage.

Burns ended up leading the Golden Eagles for the fourth-consecutive game as he scored a season-high with 21 points on 10-of-19 shooting from the field despite being guarded by the 7-1 Di Loreto for the majority of the game. Niang added 12 points and corralled nine rebounds for UMC while Sparkman chipped in eight points. Half of Niang's points came from the charity stripe where he was 6-of-8 for the night. The Golden Eagles finished the game shooting 21-of-45 from the field for 46.7 percent. They were 3-of-8 from downtown for 37.5 percent and 10-of-14 from the free-throw line for 71.4 percent. They out-rebounded the Storm despite Di Loreto's presence inside, grabbing 27 rebounds compared to 22 for Crown College led by Niang. UMC had trouble holding on to the ball for the game as they had 18 turnovers led by six from Krdzalic.

Di Loreto paced Crown College with 29 points on 13-of-16 from the field including two converted three-pointers. He also led the team with 11 boards. Shetler was the only other Storm player to score double figures as he had 12 points. Crown College finished the game shooting 25-of-42 from the field for 59.5 percent.

The Golden Eagles will look to rebound from the loss as they head to Bemidji State University Saturday for the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference opener at 4 p.m. at BSU Gymnasium.

For more information, visit the Golden Eagle Athletics Web site at www.goldeneaglesports.com.

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The University of Minnesota, Crookston is an NCAA Division II Institution and a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). The Golden Eagle Equestrian team is a member of the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA).