Brady Zubke (Laporte, Minn./Park Rapids Area HS)'s team-high 17 points helped lead the Saints (7-9, 5-1) men's basketball team to a 70-59 win over visiting Martin Luther College (4-11, 2-4) in an Upper Midwest Athletic Conference match-up on Friday evening in the Burns Wellness Commons.

 

The Saints were able to grab a lead midway through the first half then held off a pesky Knights squad to take a slim 2-point margin into the intermission at 34-32.

 

St. Scholastica couldn't shake the Vikings until a 20-8 run changed a 50-47 score at the midpoint of the second half into a 15 point lead with a minute to play.

 

The defense for the Saints picked up steam in the second half as they slowed a Martin Luther offense that shot 48 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes to only 37 percent in the second half. St. Scholastica also picked the Knights' pocket for 11 steals in the game, four by junior Troy Miller (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater HS) who led the team in rebounds as well with five.

 

Offensively, the Saints shot 53 percent for the game including 7-of-15 from behind the 3-point arc.

 

Along with Zubke, Jesse Taylor (Superior, Wis./Maranatha Academy) and Eric Langdon (Cloquet, Minn./Cloquet Senior HS) both reached double-digits in scoring, with 12 and 11 points respectively.

 

Martin Luther was led by Caleb Free's 20 points and 19 more from Jacob Schwartz, but only one other player scored as many as seven points and their six other scoring players totaled three points or less.

 

The win over the Knights draws the Saints into a tie for first place in the UMAC standings after Northwestern College, previously unbeaten within the conference, lost to Presentation College by 10 points in Aberdeen, S.D., Friday night.

 

Tonight's win in Duluth also moves CSS head coach David Staniger one step closer to 100 career victories. Last weekend Staniger became the school's winningest men's basketball coach with his 93rd career win and two wins later he is now only five away from the century mark.

 

**SAINTS**