DULUTH, Minn. (csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica men's basketball team will be back home this weekend when it hosts the University of Northwestern and North Central University at the Reif Gymnasium.
 
Where:
Reif Gymnasium – Burns Wellness Commons
 
When:
Friday vs. Northwestern – 7:30 p.m.
Saturday vs. North Central – 5 p.m.
 
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St. Scholastica Saints
Stats
Record: 5-7, 1-0 UMAC
Upper Midwest Athletic Conference: Standings | Stats
 
The Saints will enter this weekend on a two-game winning streak … Both victories have been by a total of six points against Finlandia University (Mich.) last Monday and Northland College on Saturday … Freshman Joe Stark (Hayward, Wis./Hayward HS) scored a season-high 16 points and made two free throws in the final 10 seconds to give the Saints the win.
 
Automatic at the Line: Stark has made 19 consecutive free throws, including going 7-for-7 in Saturday's win at Northland … He is second in the UMAC, shooting 87 percent from the charity stripe for the season.
 
From Long Range: Freshman Marc Peterson (Esko, Minn./Esko HS) has scored at least nine points in each of his last five games since returning from injury … 20 of his 22 made field goals this season have come from beyond the arc.
 
Rebounding and Defense: The Saints lead the conference in rebounding margin (-0.8), points per game allowed (70.2) and opponents' field goal percentage (.444).
 
Contributions from Down Low: The Saints have received back-to-back double-figure scoring games from their low post players … Nathan Carlson (Alvarado, Minn./East Grand Forks HS) had 12 points against Finlandia and Mike Spoden (Grand Rapids, Minn./Grand Rapids HS) had 11 points on Saturday at Northland.
 
Never Out of It: The Saints have trailed by at least eight in three of its four wins this season with all three coming with less than 13 minutes to go in regulation … CSS trailed by six with less than five minutes to go in Saturday's win.
 
Let's Go Streaking: The Saints have not won three straight games since the start of conference play during the 2012-13 season.
 
Series Histories:
-Northwestern leads CSS 46-25
-CSS leads North Central 19-6
 
Last Meetings: The Eagles eliminated the Saints from the UMAC Tournament with a 73-50 victory in the semifinals last season … CSS defeated Northwestern days prior 51-50 just to make the tournament … That same weekend, CSS defeated North Central 86-78 in critical late season matchup.
 
University of Northwestern Eagles
Northwestern, who has won the UMAC Tournament championship the last four seasons and the regular season title four of the last five seasons, are favored to win it again this season, according to the preseason coaches' poll … The Eagles will enter the weekend with a 3-9 overall record and are coming off a 75-67 victory over North Central last Saturday … Northwestern has defeated UW-Stout this season by five, while the Saints lost the Blue Devils by five … The Eagles have four players in the top 11 in scoring, led by guard Michael Carney, who is averaging 14.2 points per game … Carney leads the conference with 32 made 3-pointers … The Eagles lead the UMAC with 7.5 made 3-point field goals per game … Will Gisler and Porter Morrell are each averaging 10.6 and 10.5 points, respectively … Morrell leads the league and is seventh in the nation, shooting 92 percent from the free throw line … Kyle Ooms leads the conference with eight rebounds per game.
 
North Central University Rams
North Central will enter the weekend with a 3-7 overall record … The Rams had a four-game winning streak snapped with its loss to Northwestern on Saturday … Guard Luke Chaflin is second in the conference in scoring, averaging 16.4 points per game … The Rams also have the top two consistent 3-point shooters in the league in Travis Voigt at 56 percent and Cody Martin at 46 percent … North Central leads the conference in 3-point field goal percentage (.395), rebounds per game (35.8) and assists per game (12.6).