Box Score Box Score

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. – The St. Scholastica men's basketball team shot the ball well, but fell in the season opener at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire 77-64 Monday night at Zorn Arena.
 
The Saints had a 10-5 lead early with last year's Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Freshman Player of the Year #Brett Tester# scoring six of the 10 points. The Blugolds then went on a 17-3 run to take a 22-13 lead. The margin got as high 11 before the Saints got it down to five. Eau Claire got a layup at the end of the half to make it 33-26 at halftime.

The Saints shot 56-percent from the field in the first half and were 7-for-8 from the free throw line. CSS had 10 turnovers in the half. The Blugolds shot 50-percent and had eight points off turnovers.

The Blugolds led by 12 with 17 minutes to go, but St. Scholastica responded with a 9-0 run to cut it to three. UWEC quickly got it back to nine. The Saints got it back down to five, but that's as close they got as the Blugolds prevailed 77-64.

The Saints shot 59-percent for the game, but had 18 turnovers, which led to 21 Blugold points. CSS shot 59-percent or higher in three games all of last season. Eau Claire shot 54-percent and was 19-for-22 from the free throw line.

Brett Tester (Andover, Minn./Andover HS) led CSS with 20 points. #Danny Schmitz# was next with 19 points and #Jonah Dahlman# added 10 points. Both Tester and Dahlman each had a team-high four rebounds. Marcus Ruh had a game-high 22 points for the Blugolds.

The Saints will have their home opener on Saturday at Reif Gymnasium when they host Concordia College-Moorhead. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. and can be seen live, courtesy of the iFan Sports Network, at csssaints.com.