Notables
-First-time in program history CSS has won six straight games prior to Christmas
-CSS never trailed
-Season-high 16 points for Howard
-Second straight double-double for Laughlin

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DULUTH, Minn. (csssaints.com) – For the second straight game, the St. Scholastica men's basketball team struggled to shoot the ball effectively and had to withstand a late charge from its opponent, which was Crossroads College on Tuesday night. However, the Saints hung on for the 62-60 victory at the Reif Gymnasium.
 
First Half
The Saints made four straight free throws to open the game and would not lose the lead the rest of way. The Knights did not make a field goal until almost five minutes into the contest.
 
With that being said, the Saints did not lead by more than 10 the entire first half and Crossroads cut the margin to three with four minutes to go.
 
That is when the Saints went on a 9-0 spurt to finish half, capped off by a pair of Andrew Laughlin (Duluth, Minn./Duluth Central HS) dunks, the second being a fast-break alley-oop from Julius Johnson (Minneapolis, Minn./Henry Sibley HS). The Saints went into the locker room with a 37-25 advantage.
 
Second Half
St. Scholastica widened its lead to 48-33 with over 12 minutes remaining following a Zach Dahlman (Braham, Minn./Braham HS) layup. After that bucket, the CSS offense went into a slump and had to be carried by junior Beau Howard (Brainerd, Minn./Pine River-Backus HS (Hibbing CC)). The Saints only made four more field goals the rest of the way and three were by Howard.
 
CSS led by 10 with five minutes to go, but the Knights went on a 9-1 run to make it 58-56 with just under two minutes remaining. After both teams exchanged layups, CSS missed the front end of a 1-and-1, but Johnson chased down the offensive rebound.
 
After a Crossroads foul, Howard calmly drained a pair of free throws to seal the game as the Knights got a layup as time expired to make the final 62-60.
 
Team Stats
The Saints had their second-worst shooting performance of the season at just 35 percent from the floor. CSS was 6-of-27 on 3-point attempts and 4-for-8 from the free throw line in the second half.
 
Crossroads shot 37 percent from the field and also made six 3-pointers on the night. The Knights owned the glass 48-39, including 16 offensive rebounds. The Knights' bench had a huge scoring advantage (31-13), including 23-3 in the second half.
 
Top Performances for CSS
Laughlin led the Saints with 17 points, including 12 in the first half. He also grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds for his second straight double-double. Howard scored a season-high 16 points, 10 of which coming in the second half. Brandon Newman (Barnum, Minn./Barnum HS) added 12 points and five steals.
 
Top Performances for Crossroads
Isaac Bowles had 13 points and 13 rebounds for the Knights. Steven Horan had 12 points and Brandon LeGree had 11 points and eight rebounds off the bench. LeGree had nine of his 11 points in the second half.
 
Up Next
The Saints (7-2) will be off until after Christmas when it travels to Orlando, Florida to take part in the Land of Magic Classic on December 28 and 29.