DULUTH, Minn. (csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica men's basketball team begins Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) action this weekend at Martin Luther College and Bethany Lutheran College.
 
Where:
Friday
MLC Gymnasium – New Ulm, Minn.
Saturday
North Gymnasium – Mankato, Minn.
 
When:
Friday at Martin Luther – 5:30 p.m.
Saturday at Bethany Lutheran – 3 p.m.
 
Live Video vs. Martin Luther: http://livestream.com/mlc-knightvision
Live Stats vs. Martin Luther: https://mlc-wels.edu/static/livestats/xlive.htm
Live Video vs. Bethany Lutheran: https://iframe.dacast.com/b/51317/c/75787
Live Stats vs. Bethany Lutheran: http://www.umacstats.com/sports/mbkb/2015-16/boxscores/20151205_9ijq.xml
 
Social Media:
Twitter: www.twitter.com/CSSsaints
Instagram: www.instagram.com/csssaints
Facebook: www.facebook.com/css.saints
 
St. Scholastica Saints
Stats
Record: 2-2, 0-0 UMAC
Upper Midwest Athletic Conference: Standings | Stats
 
Last Action: In their home opener on Sunday, the Saints defeated Saint Mary's University 85-68 … It was the largest margin of victory over a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) program since the 2005-06 season … It was also the first victory in a home opener since the 2012-13 season … Brandon Newman (Barnum, Minn./Barnum HS) led all scorers with 18 points, while Jake Naslund (Barnum, Minn./Barnum HS) finished with 16 points, six rebounds and five assists.
 
Season Highs: The Saints shot a season-best 51 percent from the field in Sunday's victory, making a season-high 11, 3-pointers with a season-high 21 assists … It was the most 3-point field goals since the start of the 2013-14 season and the most assists since the 2012-13 season.
 
UMAC Action in December: For the first time since the 2009-10 season, the Saints will play a conference game before January 1 … The change is due to the addition of UW-Superior into the league … There will be two weekends of UMAC play before the holidays.
 
Get to the Line: Newman leads all UMAC players with 20 made free throw attempts this season and ranks fourth by making 83 percent of his attempts … The Saints as a team lead the UMAC with 14.3 free throws made per game and 20.8 free throw attempted per contest.

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UMAC Preseason Poll
1.   64 Points – University of Northwestern (8 First Place Votes)
2.   52 Points – College of St. Scholastica (1)
3.   51 Points – University of Wisconsin-Superior
4.   43 Points – University of Minnesota Morris
5.   35 Points – Bethany Lutheran College
6.   27 Points – Northland College
7.   23 Points – Crown College
8.   20 Points – North Central University
9.   9 Points – Martin Luther College

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Upcoming Opponents
Martin Luther Knights
Record: 0-5, 0-0 UMAC
 
The Knights are off to a slow start this season, losing their first five games by an average of 20 points per game … The Knights are also coming off a game against Saint Mary's before Thanksgiving where it fell 80-60 … Senior guard Todd Brassow leads the team and ranks second in the UMAC in scoring at 18.2 points per game … He ranks second in the conference with 10 steals this season … Freshman T.J. Babinec is averaging 16 points per game and senior Josh Rathje is at 13.6 points per game … Babinec leads the conference with 11 steals … The Knights lead the conference with 11.4 steals per game.
 
Bethany Lutheran Vikings
Record: 0-4, 0-0 UMAC
 
The Vikings are also in search of their first win this season and will face UW-Superior on Friday, before taking on the Saints on Saturday … Bethany Lutheran is coming off a one-point overtime loss at the University of Wisconsin-Stout before Thanksgiving … Sophomore guard Neil Eichten has played in two of the team's first four games and is averaging 19.5 points per game … Junior forward Brandon Frelix is averaging 17.5 points per game … Sophomore Nate Chadderdon leads all UMAC players with 8.7 rebounds per game … The Vikings lead the conference with 38.3 rebounds per game.
 
Series Histories:
-CSS leads Martin Luther 37-18
-Bethany Lutheran leads CSS 14-11
 
Last Meetings: The Saints have won five straight against Martin Luther, including a 20-point win on the road last season … Three of the last six meetings have been decided by six points or less … The Saints swept the season series against Bethany Lutheran last season with both games being decided by a total of three points … Three of the last four games, all CSS wins, have been decided by two points or less.

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Looking Ahead: The Saints will host Northland College on Friday, December 11 and Finlandia University on Saturday, December 12.