Box Score DULUTH, Minn. (csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica men's basketball team was able to hold off a pesky Finlandia Lions squad and key free-throws down the stretch allowed the Saints to hold on for their first victory of the year.  The Saints would win 61-55 Saturday night at the Reif Gymnasium.

Both teams traded baskets for most of the game with the Saints having their largest lead of the game, 11 points, at the 1:29 mark of the second half.  It was a poor night shooting for both teams with neither team being able to score a 3-pointer in the second half.  The teams combined for 5-for-46 from three-point land for the game.

The Saints were able to convert on key possessions down the stretch and a technical foul on the Lions' coach in the late stages of the game helped allow the Saints win their first game of the year 61-55.

Finlandia (0-7) was led by Keith Arnold with 18 points and six rebounds.  Jon Moore chipped in with 16 points and Dominic Morrow had 11 points and 13 rebounds for a double-double.

The Lions, who on average let opponents score 100+ points per game, held the Saints to 61 points.  Statistically, the Lions shot 31-percent from the field, 8-percent from beyond the arc, and 72-percent from the free-throw line.

The Lions would grab 53 total rebounds and commit 18 turnovers.

CSS was led by Jonah Dahlman (Braham, Minn./Braham HS) with 16 points and four assists.  Freshman Scottie Rucks (St. Cloud, Minn./St. Cloud Cathedral HS) had 12 points along with Brett Tester (Andover, Minn./Andover HS) with 12 points and nine rebounds.  Freshman Mike Spoden (Grand Rapids, Minn./Grand Rapids HS) had six points and three rebounds coming off of the bench.

The Saints would finish the game shooting 34-percent from the field, 13-perecent from beyond the arc, and 59-percent from the charity stripe.

The Saints would grab 43 rebounds, garner nine steals, and commit 10 turnovers.

St. Scholastica (1-5) will look to add more wins this coming week as they travel to the west coast for two games against Northwest Conference (NWC) foes Pacific Lutheran and Puget Sound.  The Saints will play Pacific Lutheran on Monday with tip scheduled for 7:30 p.m. pacific time.  Tune into csssaints.com for live stats from that game.