DULUTH, Minn. (
csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica men's basketball team will have its conference home opener on Friday when it hosts Northland College and then will face Finlandia University (Mich.) on Saturday.
Where:Reif Gymnasium – Duluth, Minn.
When:Friday vs. Northland – 5:30 p.m.
Saturday vs. Finlandia – 3 p.m.
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www.facebook.com/css.saints St. Scholastica SaintsStatsRecord: 4-2, 2-0 UMACUpper Midwest Athletic Conference: Standings | Stats Last Action: The Saints opened Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) action with a pair of victories last weekend … CSS defeated Martin Luther College 85-77 on Friday and then Bethany Lutheran College 103-88 on Saturday … In Saturday's victory over the Vikings, the Saints reached 100 points for the first time since January 13, 2007 … They also tied a program record with 15 3-point field goals and scored the most points in a half (57) since November of 2004.
Balanced Scoring: During the three-game winning streak, the Saints have had five players score in double-figures in each game … Four players are averaging in double-figures during that span … Freshman
Brandon Newman (Barnum, Minn./Barnum HS) is leading the way at 14.0 points per game …
Jake Naslund (Barnum, Minn./Barnum HS) is at 12.7,
Julius Johnson (Minneapolis, Minn./Henry Sibley HS) at 11.7 and
Andrew Laughlin (Duluth, Minn./Duluth Central HS) at 11.0 … The Saints rank third amongst conference teams in scoring, but do not have a single player in the top 10 individually in the league in scoring.
Finlandia Added into Schedule Rotation: With the University of Wisconsin-Superior entering the league this season that gave the UMAC an odd number (9) of teams … To retain the travel partner Friday/Saturday conference schedule, Finlandia University (Mich.) has been added to the rotation as a non-conference member and will be a travel partner with Northland College.
UMAC Preseason Poll1. 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
Upcoming Opponents Northland LumberJacksRecord: 0-7, 0-2 UMAC Northland will be in search of its first victory this weekend … Three of its seven losses have been by five points or less, including a close five-point loss to defending league champion University of Northwestern last weekend … Northland ranks at the bottom of the league in points per game (59.3), field goal percentage (.373) and 3-point field goal percentage (.299) … The LumberJacks do rank second in points per game allowed (75.9) … Senior Bryshaun Brown leads the team with 12.4 points per game … Brown is the only player averaging in double figures … Sophomore Thomas Whiting leads the team with 5.7 rebounds per game and the conference with nine blocks.
Finlandia LionsRecord: 1-4 The Lions picked up their first win of the season last Friday against North Central University … Finlandia then lost by only eight points to Northwestern on Saturday … In the preseason, the Lions lost by eight to Division II Northern Michigan University … Finlandia has out-scored opponents 146-141 in the first half, but are being out-scored 177-142 in the second half … Four players are averaging in double-figures in scoring led by Brandon Robinette, who is at 14.5 points per game … Terrance Fuller is averaging 14.0 points and eight rebounds per game.
Series Histories:-CSS leads Northland 55-19
-CSS leads Finlandia 19-8
Last Meetings: The Saints have won 11 straight against Northland and are 29-4 all-time at home against the LumberJacks … The last home loss against Northland came in 2005 … The Saints split with Finlandia last season, falling in the U.P., but defeating the Lions by four at the Reif … CSS is 12-1 all-time at home against Finlandia with that lone loss coming in 2003.
Looking Ahead: The Saints will host Crossroads College on Tuesday, December 15 in the Reif Gymnasium.
