Notables -CSS' Laughlin and Naslund combined for 40 points-CSS outscored Crown in the lane 42-22-The Saints shot 24-of-51 from the field for a .471 shooting percentage
DULUTH, Minn. (csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica finished off an alumni sweep of Crown College by pulling out a tight 67-61 win behind a loud crowd at the Reif Gymnasium.
Earlier in the day the women's team defeated Crown in a decisive 69-30 win.
CSS started the game out on an 8-2 run over the first three and a half minutes capped by a
Jake Naslund (Barnum, Minn./Barnum HS) fastbreak layup with 16:21 to go.
Crown would answer back with a quick 5-0 run of their own to tie the game at 8-8 with just over 15 minutes to play.
The remainder of the half would showcase two competitive teams each trying to gain the edge over the other. The result was a very entertaining 15 minute stretch where no team led by more than three points and a tie game at 27 apiece going into halftime.
CSS was able to build up a four point lead early in the second half on a fastbreak layup by
Julius Johnson (Minneapolis, Minn./Henry Sibley HS) to make the score 35-31 with 16:43 to play in the game.
The Saints would later expand on the four point lead when
LaMonte Hall (Minneapolis, Minn./DeLaSalle HS (Saint Mary’s)) layed the ball in to make the score 39-33 in favor of CSS for a six point lead with 13:38 to go.
The lead never rose above six points as Crown stayed vigilant in a very physical second half. It was not until Crown actually managed a one point lead at 47-46 that CSS started to pull away. With 6:04 to play and down by one point, the Saints embarked on an 11-2 run to take an eight point lead with 3:47 left in the game.
After converting on about half of their bonus free throw opportunities in the next three minutes, CSS gave Crown a small glimmer of hope when, with 37 seconds left, Crown drained a 3-pointer to cut the score to 62-58 with CSS in front.
After an
Andrew Laughlin (Duluth, Minn./Duluth Central HS) layup and 1-of-2 free throws by Johnson, Crown would take the ball back again and make another 3-pointer to once again make it a four point game at 65-61 this time with just eight seconds to go.
Fortunately for CSS,
Joe Stark (Hayward, Wis./Hayward HS) sunk both free throws on the next possession taking away any chance of another Crown comeback and setting the final score at 67-61 with the Saints completing the sweep of Crown College.
Naslund would finish the game with 21 points to lead the Saints, while Laughlin scored 19 and grabbed eight rebounds to make it a 20 rebound weekend with a 12 board performance Friday vs. Morris.
CSS (10-11, 6-4 UMAC) will next be in action when they take on North Central University in a UMAC road game in Minneapolis, Minnesota with tip off scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
