(Pictured right-Daniel Fragodt)
Story by: Zach Koenig
St. Bonifacius, MN—Joey Fragodt (So. Benson, MN) sank two free-throws to put the game into overtime and brother Daniel Fragodt’s (Fr. Benson, MN) four unanswered points provided the margin of victory as the University of Minnesota-Morris men’s basketball team defeated Crown College 91-88 on Saturday.
Throughout the entire contest, the Cougars were powered by an explosive offense that produced five players scoring in double-digits: Phil Allen (Jr. Clarissa, MN) led the way with 29 points and 10 rebounds for his first career double-double. Will Jenson (Sr. Eau Claire, WI) added 14. Joey Fragodt, Daniel Fragodt, and Corey Kelzenberg (Sr. Fridley, MN) all scored 11 points each.
During the opening minutes of the first half, Crown maintained a slim lead over UMM. A layup from Daniel Fragodt tied the score at 14-14 with 11:24 remaining, followed soon after by a Jordan Noonan (So. Richfield, MN) three-point shot to give the Cougars a slim 19-17.
A three-pointer from Jenson maintained a 22-21 Cougar lead with 8:05 on the clock, but an 18-6 run by Crown from that point gave them a formidable 40-27 halftime lead.
Allen (eight points) and Jenson (eight) led the first-half Cougar scoring, followed by Daniel Fragodt (seven). Eric Dalbey (So. Mora, MN) pulled down three rebounds in the half.
Despite cutting the home team’s lead to just 45-39 on an Allen jump-shot in the opening minutes of the half, the Cougars quickly found themselves down by double-digits once again, with the point spread staying relatively stable until the closing minutes.
With just 1:16 left on the clock, the Cougars were down 78-68, at which point their ferocious comeback began:
First, a three-pointer from Joey Fragodt cut the Crown lead to seven points, followed by six unanswered points from Allen, pulling Minnesota-Morris to within one point (78-77).
After trading free-throws, Crown took an 81-79 lead with only six seconds left in regulation. A foul on Crown’s Isaac Hale, however, allowed Joey Fragodt to sink his two free-throws and send the game into overtime.
Allen (21 points) and Joey Fragodt (11) dominated the second half scoring for the Cougars, with Allen also picking up nine rebounds.
In overtime, the Cougars quickly fell behind, only to pull even 83-83 thanks to two free-throws from Daron Zych (Sr. Graceville, MN).
After falling behind yet again, free-throws from Kelzenberg and Dalbey knotted the score at 85-85.
A three-pointer from Crown’s Kincade Kirkpatrick put the score at 88-85 with just 45 seconds remaining, but two more Kelzenberg free-throws closed the gap to 88-87.
At that point, Daniel Fragodt took matters into his own hands by first executing a layup to give the Cougars a 89-88 lead, then sinking two free-throws to ice the contest (91-88).
The Cougars shot at a 42.4% (27-59) clip from the floor during the contest and outscored Crown 30-22 in the paint.
With the victory, UMM improved to 10-9 on the season, 6-3 in UMAC play.
 |  |
| Minnesota-Morris | 27 | 54 | 10 | 91 |
| Crown College | 40 | 41 | 7 | 88 |
Box Score
