Box Score
DULUTH, Minn. – The St. Scholastica men's basketball team clinched its first win of the season with a 73-69 victory over North Central University at the Reif Gymnasium at Burns Wellness Commons on Tuesday evening.
In a game that saw 15 lead changes and eight tie scores, the Saints (1-2) pulled away to an eight-point lead before a couple of late Rams (0-4) three-pointers cut the final deficit to four.
The Rams got on the board first, but the Saints battled ahead, leading by as much as six points in the first half before North Central pulled back ahead late in the first, leading by two at the break.
At half, #Jonah Dahlman# led the Saints with seven points. #Brett Tester# added six in the first half as well as six rebounds. The Rams' Andrew Berndt had six field goals in the first half, leading all scorers with 12 points.
North Central scored five unanswered points in the first minute of the second half, leading by seven. CSS ate away at the deficit, pulling ahead shortly after the five-minute mark of the second frame. The lead changed hands eleven times in the half, and the score was tied as late as the 18-minute mark.
A #Logan Schultz# lay-up put the Saints head with 1:52 remaining, and a key block by #Jonah Dahlman# in the closing seconds helped the Saints to hold on as #Danny Schmitz# scored four rebounds to put the Saints ahead by eight in the closing seconds before a pair of late three-pointers by Berndt and Luke Furr cut the Saints' lead down to four.
Tester finished with a double-double for the Saints, scoring 14 points while pulling down 12 rebounds. Schmitz led all scorers with 20 points and six assists, while Dahlman added 17 points of his own.
Berndt led the Rams with 19 points on the evening, while Nathan Roeder finished with 16 points and seven assists. Levi Kooistra led North Central with ten rebounds.
The Saints will remain in the Twin Ports following Thanksgiving, but will be across the bridge when they face the University of Wisconsin-Superior on Saturday at Mertz Mortorelli Gym. The tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m.
