Box Score Box score
Though only two time zones westward, the Saints suffered through a rough stretch in the first half of their 62-46 loss to Pomona-Pitzer in the opener of the Oxy Classic in Los Angeles on Wednesday afternoon.
An Andy Schmitz 3-point field goal pushed St. Scholastica (3-7) into a 17-16 lead at the 9:03 mark but Pitzer (4-5) immediately rallied with a 14-0 run that broke open what had been a tight initial 20 minutes.
The Saints and Sagehens played through four lead changes and five times before Schmitz' field goal but the long scoring run propelled Pitzer to a 32-20 halftime lead.
Though they cut the lead to six twice in the second half, the Saints couldn't get any closer in losing the second of three games on their west coast swing.
Thirty percent shooting from the field in the first half hampered the Saints but a frigid second half behind the three point arc, 0-for-9 after hitting only 3-of-11 in the first half, doomed a comeback in the final 20 minutes, a half in which CSS was only outscored by four points.
Eight different Saints scored at least four points in the loss led by Brady Zubke (Laporte, Minn./Park Rapids Area HS)'s eight points. Eric Langdon (Cloquet, Minn./Cloquet Senior HS) and Zubke each pulled down six rebounds to lead the team.
Troy Miller (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater HS) finished with eight assists and no turnovers while also blocking a shot and registering a pair of steals for the Saints.
For Pomona-Pitzer, Jabarri Reynolds had a game-high 18 points while teammate Justin Sexton chipped in with 14 and a game-leading eight rebounds.
The next game for the Saints will be against the Classic's host school, Occidental College, on Thursday night at 7 p.m.
