Box Score DULUTH, Minn. (csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica men's basketball team ended the first half on a 4-0 run to lead at the break, but a strong second half shooting performance by the Bethany Lutheran Vikings was too much for the Saints to overcome, eventually falling 74-57 in Friday nights Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) contest held in the Reif Gymnasium.

The opening half was full of back-and-forth action from both teams, as CSS was able to pull out to a 17-13 lead off of a Mike Spoden (Grand Rapids, Minn./Grand Rapids HS) jumper.  Bethany would reclaim the lead just a few minutes later and would lead by a possession or two for a six minute span. 

The ending of the first half was just as exciting as Derek Steve (St. Cloud, Minn./St. Cloud Apollo HS) hit a long two pointer with about 1.6 seconds left to put the Saints only down one point.  Brett Tester (Andover, Minn./Andover HS) would steal the ensuing inbounds and heave a 12 footer that was all net to send the Saints into the break leading 32-31.

It was a tale of two halves though as the Vikings would reclaim on the second possession of the half and would never relinquish the lead after that.  The Saints were able to cut the lead to six with 13:08 remaining but some streaky shooting by the Bethany guards and missed opportunities by the Saints allowed the Vikings to come away with a 74-57 victory.

Bethany Lutheran (8-11, 6-3 UMAC) was led by Derek Peterson with 20 points and five assists.  Two other Viking players scored in double digits.  The Vikings finished the game with 13 turnovers and held their largest lead, 19 points, at the 5:32 mark of the 2^nd half.

The Vikings finished the game shooting 46-percent from the field, 46-percent from beyond the arc, and 86-percent from the free throw line.

CSS was led by Brett Tester (Andover, Minn./Andover HS) with 21 points and seven rebounds.  Trevor Morlock (Rogers, Minn./Rogers HS (Minn., Crookston)) was the only other Saints player to reach double digits in scoring, chipping in 11 points while collecting a team-high eight rebounds.

The Saints would finish the game shooting 40-percent from the field, 27-percent from beyond the arc, and 69-percent from the free-throw line.  CSS committed 15 turnovers and was outrebounded 35-32.  The Saints' largest lead was four points at the 10:05 mark of the first half.

St. Scholastica (6-14, 4-5 UMAC) will hold its annual Alumni Game at 12 p.m. tomorrow.  They will then host Martin Luther College at 5 p.m. in the Reif Gymnasium.  Tune into csssaints.com for a live broadcast of that game.