DULUTH, Minn. (csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica men's basketball team will take on preseason favorite University of Minnesota Morris on Friday night and then take on Crown College on Saturday in a pair of Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) contests.
Game Times:
Friday at Minnesota Morris – 5:30 p.m.
Saturday at Crown – 3 p.m.
|
|
St. Scholastica Saints
Record: 4-8 (1-0 UMAC)
Head Coach: David Staniger |
-The Saints will enter the weekend on a two-game winning streak after defeating Northland College 63-50 on Tuesday.
-The Saints shot a noteworthy 50 percent from the field against Northland, marking only the second time this season they had at least a .500 field goal percentage.
-However, they made a season low one 3-point field goal on Tuesday in 10 attempts. The Saints have made an average of 5.4, 3-pointers per game, which is seventh in the league.
-
Trevor Morlock (Rogers, Minn./Rogers HS (Minn., Crookston)) and
Jake Naslund (Barnum, Minn./Barnum HS) are continuing to lead the Saints. Morlock is averaging 13.0 points per game and 8.0 rebounds per game. Naslund is averaging another 10.0 points per game for the Saints.
-CSS has to do a better job of taking care of the basketball as they continue to rank at the bottom of the league in turnovers per game (16.3).
|
|
University of Minnesota Morris Cougars
Record: 6-6 (0-1 UMAC)
Head Coach: Paul Grove |
-The Cougars were picked to finish first in the UMAC, according to the preseason coaches' poll, but fell to Crown College in the conference opener last Saturday.
-Morris has lost four straight games, three of which have come against NAIA competition.
-RJ Dean is leading the Cougars in scoring as he averages 11.2 points per game and is followed closely by Brendon Foss with 11.0 points on average.
-Evan Reller is also averaging double-figures in scoring with 10.0 points and 6.9 rebounds per game.
-The Cougars get to the free throw line as they are second in the conference in free throw attempts per game (21.9) and are first in free throws made per game (14.6).
-Morris is at the bottom of the league in field goal attempts per game (54.4), but have successful on the defensive end holding opponents to a conference-best 68.3 points per game.
-The Cougars average nine more points per game at home than on the road.
Series History: (CSS is 13-19 vs. Minnesota Morris)
-Home court has been key the past couple of seasons as both teams have split the season series the last two years with each winning on their home courts.
-The Saints have lost five straight at Morris. |
|
|
Crown College Storm
Record: 4-8 (1-0 UMAC)
Head Coach: Luke Herbert |
-The Storm are coming off a 97-77 victory at home against Morris last Saturday.
-Crown features the conference's leading scorer in guard Bryce Williams. Williams is averaging 20.3 points per game. He also leads the UMAC with 37 made 3-point field goals.
-At the other guard position is James Brown, who leads the league with a shooting percentage of 45.5 percent from beyond the arc.
-Crown is the conference's top scoring team, averaging 74.8 points per game. However, they are near the bottom, allowing 80.7 points per contest.
-Crown leads the conference, averaging 8.6 steals per game, but is last in the league getting out-rebounded by an average of 11 rebounds per contest.
-The Storm was picked to finish last in the conference this season, according to the preseason coaches' poll.
Series History: (CSS is 26-3 vs. Crown)
-The Saints have won seven straight against the Storm. However, all three losses in the series have come in St. Bonifacius. |
