Box Score EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (csssaints.com) – Sophomore
Cole Mortel (Luck, Wis./Luck HS) went off for a career-high19 points on Wednesday night at Zorn Arena, but it wasn't enough as the St. Scholastica men's basketball team fell 84-70 to the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
Mortel began the game for the Saints with back-to-back 3-pointers as the Saints led 6-3. However, the Blugolds hit three consecutive 3-pointers to take a 12-6 lead. Eau Claire then went on a 9-1 run to extend its lead to 23-12 with over 12 minutes to play in the half.
An 8-1 run later in the half by the Blugolds climbed the margin up to 20 and the Saints went into halftime trailing 50-29.
The Blugolds (4-2) shot a blistering 71 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes, while the Saints were held to 31 percent shooting. Eau Claire made 10, 3-pointers in the first half, making 77 percent of its attempts from beyond the arc.
The Blugolds would cool off in the second half and the Saints would make a run. Trailing by 21 with 16:35 left, CSS went on a 15-2 run over the span of six minutes to get margin down to 61-53.
3-point shooting got the Eau Claire lead back up to 15 a short time later, but the Saints made another run, an 8-0 run, to get it down to five with three minutes to go. Unfortunately, the Saints made just one more field goal the rest of the way as the Blugolds closed the game on a 12-3 run to win 84-70.
CSS shot 47 percent in the second half to finish at 39 percent for the game. The Saints were just 16-for-25 (64 percent) from the free throw line. The Blugolds dropped to 35 percent in the second half to finish at 51 percent for the game. Eau Claire finished with 15, 3-pointers.
Behind Mortel,
Scottie Rucks (St. Cloud, Minn./St. Cloud Cathedral HS) had a season-high 15 points for CSS.
Brett Tester (Andover, Minn./Andover HS) had his first double-double of the season with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Dustin Kalien led four Blugolds in double-figures with 22 points.
The Saints (0-5) will have their home opener Saturday at Reif Gymnasium when they face off against Finlandia University (Mich.). Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m. and all of the action can be seen live on Saints Sports Net.
