Box Score SUPERIOR, Wis. – The St. Scholastica men's basketball team played from behind for most of the game and despite getting close to the University of Wisconsin-Superior on a number of occasions, the Yellowjackets took round one of the Bridge Battle by a score of 82-65 on Saturday night.
The Saints scored the first four points of the game after baskets by
Brett Tester (Andover, Minn./Andover HS) and
Jonah Dahlman (Braham, Minn./Braham HS). The Yellowjackets responded with an 18-2 run to take a 12-point lead with 13 minutes left in the half. Later, CSS went on a 7-0 thanks to five points from
Cole Mortel (Luck, Wis./Luck HS) to cut the lead to five, but the 'Jackets would go into halftime with a 38-31 lead.
The Saints shot 50-percent from the field in the first half, but were outrebounded 20-9. The Yellowjackets shot 48-percent and had an 11-4 advantage in second chance points.
In the second half, the Yellowjackets would use an 8-0 run to extend their lead to 53-37 with 13 minutes left in the game. CSS started to chip into the margin beginning at the 10-minute mark as
Cole Mortel (Luck, Wis./Luck HS) got hot scoring eight points in a one minute and 30 second span to make it an eight-point game.
The Saints got the lead down to five after a Tester 3-point play with less than six minutes remaining. However, with the UWS lead at 73-65 with 3:39 remaining, the Saints went scoreless the rest of the way as the 'Jackets finished on a 9-0 run to win 82-65.
The Saints shot 46-percent for the game, but were only 4-for-16 from beyond the arc. CSS was also outrebounded 45-20. UWS shot 51-percent from the field and were 17-of-19 from the free throw line.
Tester had 23 points and a team-high five rebounds for the Saints.
Cole Mortel (Luck, Wis./Luck HS) added 15 points off the bench and Dahlman scored all 12 of his points in the first half. Ben Aalfs led the Yellowjackets (7-4) with 23 points and Bronson Byrne added 21 points off the bench.
The Saints (1-7) will take a 12-day break for finals and Christmas and will be in action next on Thursday, December, 29th at Concordia College-Moorhead.
