Notables:-Jake Naslund (Barnum, Minn./Barnum HS) scored a team-high 19 points for CSS.-Michael Carney led all players with 26 points for Northwestern.-UNW outscored the Saints 43-28 in the second half to complete the comeback win.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (csssaints.com) – St. Scholastica men's basketball was defeated 73-65 after a second half comeback from the University of Northwestern in an Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) matchup.
The Saints controlled the game in the first half of play taking the lead less than two minutes into the game and holding it for the remainder of the half. A Michael Carney 3-pointer at 16:58 brought the Eagles within one, but the Saints answered with a 6-0 run to make the score 14-7.
St. Scholastica took its largest lead of the half, 13 points, with 3:27 remaining following an 11-0 run that kicked off with
Jake Naslund (Barnum, Minn./Barnum HS) making a layup while being fouled and then hitting his free throw to convert the three-point play.
Northwestern finished the first half down 37-30 after Carney hit a 3-pointer with six seconds left on the clock.
The Eagles took their first lead since the opening minutes of the game at 11:59 of the second half after a Matt Watnemo thee-pointer made it 50-48. Northwestern did not surrender its lead for the remainder of the game as UNW had an answer for every Saints run.
CSS cut the deficit to within five with just over a minute remaining in regulation but that would be as close as they would get. Northwestern closed out the game with clutch free throw shooting to bring the final score to 73-65.
Naslund led all Saints in scoring with 19 points followed by
Zach Dahlman (Braham, Minn./Braham HS) with 13 and
Andrew Laughlin (Duluth, Minn./Duluth Central HS) with 12.
Michael Carney finished the game with 26 points for Northwestern to lead all scorers. Will Gisler (13 points, seven rebounds) and Kyle Ooms (11 points, six boards) rounded out the top performers for the Eagles.
The Saints edged UNW in points off turnovers (17-to-7), points in the paint (30-to-28), and bench points (24-to-13) but the Eagles held the advantage in rebounding (36-to-31) and second chance points (11-to-4).
With the loss CSS drops to 6-6 in conference play and 10-13 overall.
The Saints return home Friday to take on Bethany Lutheran at Reif Gym. Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m.
