New Ulm, MN - The MLC men's basketball team picked up its first UMAC win of the season on Saturday afternoon, defeating Crown College 79-69 in the LSC gymnasium.

The Knights held off a Polars team that was making a second-half comeback after trailing by as many as 27 points (58-31) near the 13:30 mark of the half. Crown cut it to six points (68-62) around the 4-minute mark, but the Knights put an end to the Polars' momentum at that point and scored eight unanswered points to give them the edge over Crown. The late run included a couple of dagger 3-pointers from Adam Loberger and Benjamin Vasold.

MLC bounced back from their double-digit loss to Minnesota Morris on Wednesday in the Knights' conference opener. MLC had a hot start from the floor in the first half and held a 46-27 lead at halftime. MLC had one of its better halves from a 3-point efficiency standpoint, shooting nearly 47 percent from beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes.

MLC struggled to have the same success from the floor in the second half, but knocked down most of its free throws, 17-20 (85 percent), from the charity stripe.

From the opening tip, MLC had control of the game, and they also were impressive defensively, especially in the first half, holding Crown to just 11 percent from deep and 33.3 percent shooting overall.

Loberger led MLC with another double-double (32 points, 17 rebounds), while Vasold earned a season high in points (17) and steals (4), while shooting 6-of-8 from the field.

MLC will now go on the road to play Northwestern on Wednesday, January 14, at 7:15 p.m.