NEW ULM, Minn. - The Martin Luther College men's basketball team lost its home finale against Crown College by the score of 76-64 on Wednesday.

The Knights held a 40-39 lead after a first half that featured big scoring performances from several players on each team. Austin DeNoyer paced the Knights with 14 points before the break, while the Storm leaned on 22 points from Austin VanDerHeyden on 9-10 shooting from the field.

The two teams went back and forth in the second half, but the Storm took control for good thanks to a 12-2 run that started with 7:30 on the clock and finished with 1:40 to play following a lay-up by Ethan Eisenmann. MLC was held without a field goal during that stretch, allowing the Storm to push the lead from three points to 13 points.

While the Knights were able to keep VanDerHeyden at bay in the second half, Timothy Wendel picked up the slack for Crown with 13 points and 10 rebounds after the break. 

Three MLC players finished in double figures, led by 18 from Ian Paulsen and DeNoyer. Richard Eckmann also added 13 points, 12 of which came in the first half. 

MLC fell to 4-20 overall and 2-13 in UMAC play in defeat. Crown improved to 13-11 on the season and 9-6 in league play with the win.

The Knights will close the season with a game at Northwestern (Minn.) on Saturday, February 17. That game is scheduled to tip off at 3 p.m.