Box Score DULUTH, Minn. – The St. Scholastica men's basketball team opened up the new year with a hard fought game and extended it's win streak to two games with a 82-73 victory over North Central University (MN) Friday night at the Reif Gymnasium.

The scoreboard would warm up quickly in this game as the Rams and Saints would trade basket for basket in the opening minutes. The Saints would eventually take control of the game at the 5:18 mark leading the Rams 30-26 with a lay-up by Nathan Carlson (Alvarado, Minn./East Grand Forks HS).

The Saints would take a 45-32 lead into halftime shooting 60-percent from the field.  The Rams would shoot 43-percent.

In the second half, the flow of the game became more physical and both teams had players in foul trouble.  The Saint were able to extend the lead to 17 points, it's largest of the game, at the 14:20 mark in the second half.

The Rams would not go away and would use two runs and feisty defense to take a two point lead back with 4:18 left in the game.  The Saints would answer and came back to take the lead for good winning 82-73. 

The Rams (4-8) were lead with three players in double figures, scoring 20, 14, and 13 points respectively.  They would shoot 51-percent from the field, 54-percent from beyond the arc, and 61-percent from the charity stripe.

The Saints were lead by Chris Hamers (Onamia, Minn./Onamia HS) who had a team-high 20 points.  Derek Steve (St. Cloud, Minn./St. Cloud Apollo HS) added 18 points, while Jonah Dahlman (Braham, Minn./Braham HS) (16 pts, 10 rebounds) and Brett Tester (Andover, Minn./Andover HS) (12 pts, 10 rebounds) each had a double-double apiece.

The Saints would shoot 44-percent from the field, 41-percent from beyond the arc, and 68-percent from the charity stripe.

The Saints (3-8) will put there two game winning streak on the line as they open UMAC conference play against Northland College next Tuesday at 7:30 , here at the Reif Gymnasium.  That game can be viewed on cssaints.com via Game Central.