Notables-First home game for CSS since 11/16-Dahlman appeared in only his fourth game of the season-CSS leading Jake Naslund (Barnum, Minn./Barnum HS) missed his third straight game.-There was a combined 54 free throws attempted-Finlandia had three players foul out and suited up a total of eight.
DULUTH, Minn. (csssaints.com) – After leading by 11 at halftime the St. Scholastica men's basketball team had to use a late 12-0 run to get past Finlandia University (Mich.) 66-62 Monday night at the Reif Gymnasium.
CSS scored the first 12 points of the game before the Lions (6-10) went on a 17-4 run over six minutes to take its first lead at 17-16 with eight minutes to go in the half. The Saints regained the lead and went back up by seven thanks to a pair of
Zach Dahlman (Braham, Minn./Braham HS) 3-pointers. A
Marc Peterson (Esko, Minn./Esko HS) 3-point field goal made it 13 before the half ended with the Saints up 34-23.
The Saints held Finlandia to 22-percent shooting, but the Lions got the benefit of going 12-of-15 from the free throw line. St. Scholastica shot 44 percent and made five 3-pointers in the first 20 minutes.
The Saints could not pull away from the Lions as Finlandia kept on hitting critical 3-pointers and made three straight free throws on a 3-point foul to cut the lead to one. The Lions went on a 10-0 run midway through the second half to take a 50-45 lead.
The margin grew to eight with 7:19 remaining. CSS answered with a Peterson 3-pointer. A
Mike Spoden (Grand Rapids, Minn./Grand Rapids HS) layup and a Dahlman 3-pointer all of a sudden tied the game with five minutes to go.
Nathan Carlson (Alvarado, Minn./East Grand Forks HS) gave the Saints the lead for good with four minutes to go and Dahlman capped the 12-0 run with a pair of free throws. St. Scholastica went 5-of-6 from the free throw line in the final minute to hold off the Lions for a 66-62 victory.
Both teams finished below 37 percent shooting for the game. The Saints had a 45-30 edge on the glass, which led to a 20-6 advantage in second chance points. CSS was 16-for-21 from the free throw line, while Finlandia finished 23-of-32.
Dahlman led the Saints with a season-high 16 points, 10 of which coming in the second half. Carlson added a career-high 12 points off the bench and nearly missed a double-double with a career-high nine rebounds. Peterson added nine points, all on 3-point field goals. Brandon Robinson and Marcus Geralds each had 18 points to lead the Lions.
The Saints (4-7) begin Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) action on Saturday when they travel to Ashland, Wisconsin to face Northland College. Play is slated to begin at 5 p.m.
