Notables
-Season opener for both teams
-First season-opening win for CSS since 2008
-Naslund, Peterson and Johnson all with career-highs scoring
-First-ever win over Luther in three tries

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DECORAH, Iowa (csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica men's basketball team rallied from a 13-point second half deficit and finished the game on an 8-0 run to defeat Luther College (Iowa) 74-70 on Sunday in its season opener.
 
Second Half Comeback
The Saints trailed 38-31 at halftime and got only as close as six in the first five minutes of the second half before they found themselves down 53-40 with 13:24 remaining.
 
The Saints started to creep back as Jake Naslund (Barnum, Minn./Barnum HS) and Julius Johnson (Minneapolis, Minn./Henry Sibley HS) combined to score 13 of the next 15 points for CSS over the next five minutes. A Marc Peterson (Esko, Minn./Esko HS) 3-pointer made it a one-point game with 8:38 remaining.
 
The Norse maintained the lead until freshman Brandon Newman (Barnum, Minn./Barnum HS) gave St. Scholastica its first lead of the game at 62-61 with 6:30 left. The lead went back-and-forth, but Luther held a 70-66 lead with 1:50 on the clock.
 
A Johnson bucket, followed by a Peterson 3-pointer gave the Saints a 71-70 lead with 45 seconds remaining. The Norse committed turnovers on consecutive possessions and Joe Stark (Hayward, Wis./Hayward HS) made 3-of-4 free throws the rest of the way to clinch the 74-70 victory for the Saints.
 
First Half Notes
Luther opened the game on a 10-2 run and led by as many as 12 in the half. The Saints only got as close as four in the first 20 minutes of play.
 
Top Performances for CSS
Naslund led all scorers with a career-high 26 points. Johnson added a career-high 12 points, including eight points in the second half. Peterson also had a career-high 13 points, including 10 points in the second half. Peterson also led the team with six rebounds. The Saints were only 13-for-25 from the free throw line. CSS' 50-percent field goal percentage in the second half proved to be the difference.
 
Top Performances for the Opponent
Kole Ruud had 15 points to pace the Norse, but was held to just two points in the second half. Jack Woolems had 13 points off the bench and Nathan Meyer added 10 points. Luther's bench out-scored the Saints 34-11. The Norse also had a 50-37 advantage on the glass, including 16 offensive rebounds.
 
Up Next
The Saints will take part in the Husky Hoopster Classic next weekend, hosted by St. Cloud State University. CSS will open with NAIA's Mayville State (N.D.) at 6 p.m. Friday.