Notables -The Saints never led in this contest-CSS did not have a single double digit scorer-The Saints are only 5-7 all-time at Finlandia
HANCOCK, Mich. (csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica men's basketball team lost to Finlandia University (Mich.) 71-58 Saturday afternoon on a day where no Saint scorer had more than nine points.
The Lions went out in front right off the bat with an 8-0 run over the first 4:36 of the game. CSS would answer with an 11-4 run of its own to cut the lead down to just one at 12-11 with 12:42 remaining in the first half.
Finlandia would maintain a single digit lead all the way until late in the first half when they built up a 13-point lead at 32-19 with 2:22 to go in the half.
CSS scored the final five points of the first half to cut the margin to eight and went into the halftime locker room down 32-24.
In the second half CSS would come out firing bringing the deficit down to just four points multiple times, and down to three at 50-47 with 9:38 to go after a good 3-point shot my
Marc Peterson (Esko, Minn./Esko HS).
Finlandia would answer the close call with a 16-8 run that effectively put the game out of reach for the Saints. With 3:01 remaining CSS was down 66-56, and only scored two more points in the game as the final horn sounded in a 71-58 loss for the Saints.
Peterson would finish the game with nine points to lead CSS on 3-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc.
Joe Stark (Hayward, Wis./Hayward HS),
Jake Naslund (Barnum, Minn./Barnum HS),
Mike Spoden (Grand Rapids, Minn./Grand Rapids HS), and
Andrew Laughlin (Duluth, Minn./Duluth Central HS) each contributed eight points as well for the Saints.
St. Scholastica (3-5) will next be in action in the Nicolet National Bank Holiday Tournament when they will take on the host St. Norbert College at 7 p.m. in De Pere, Wisconsin on Monday, December 29th.
