ST. BONIFACIOUS, Minn. - The Bethany men's basketball team Friday fell behind by double-digits in the second half and couldn't overcome the deficit as they fell to Crown 79-74. With the loss, the Vikings fall to 18-4 overall and 9-2 in the UMAC, while the Polars move to 13-10 overall and 4-7 in conference play.

After the Vikings got out to an early 6-3 lead, the Polars caught fire, connecting on seven of their next eight shots to go on a 16-0 run and take a 13-point lead. Bethany would respond in a big way though, going on a 20-8 run of their own to draw within one at 27-26. Crown would slowly extend lead, getting it to seven with time winding down in the half before a Hunter Nielsen basket cut the score to 38-33 as the teams headed to halftime.

The teams played even the first eight minutes of the second half, before the Polars would find a spark midway through to take an 65-53 lead with 7:38 remaining. They would eventually push it to 13 with 5:35 left, before Drew Sagedahl scored five straight points followed by a pair of free throws from Nielsen to trim the Polar lead to 71-65. After Crown would re-extend their lead to eight, Bethany would take advantage of turnovers and missed free throws, as Xavier Patterson scored five straight take make it a one-possession game with just over a minute left. With Bethany applying pressure and nearly getting a steal on the ensuing possession, the Polars would corral a loose ball and score at the hoop while drawing a foul to go back up six with 45 seconds left. The Vikings would get a few decent looks at the end but couldn't get any to fall as Crown was able to hold on for the win. 

Xavier Patterson and Hunter Nielsen both went 9-of-15 from the field in the contest, with Patterson posting 23 points and Nielsen 21. Nielsen also added a team-best 12 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season.The Vikings will be back in action tomorrow when they travel to Morris for a 3 p.m. contest.