DULUTH, Minn. (csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica men's basketball team, who is tied for the first in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC), will take on the other two first place teams in the University of Northwestern on Friday and North Central University on Saturday.
 
Where:
Friday
Ericksen Center – St. Paul, Minn.
Saturday
CLC Gymnasium – Minneapolis, Minn.
 
When:
Friday at Northwestern – 5:30 p.m.
Saturday at North Central – 3 p.m.
 
Live Video vs. Northwestern: http://portal.stretchinternet.com/unw/
Live Stats vs. Northwestern: http://unweagles.com/sports/2012/11/7/gen_1107121456.aspx
Live Video vs. North Central: http://ncurams.com/sports/mbkb/MBKB_video
Live Stats vs. North Central: http://www.ncurams.com/sports/mbkb/2015-16/boxscores/20160116_o9sk.xml
 
Social Media:
Twitter: www.twitter.com/CSSsaints
Instagram: www.instagram.com/csssaints
Facebook: www.facebook.com/css.saints
 
St. Scholastica Saints
Stats
Record: 9-5, 5-1 UMAC
Upper Midwest Athletic Conference: Standings | Stats
 
Last Action: The Saints are coming off a 67-55 victory over Bridge Rival University of Wisconsin-Superior last Saturday … Julius Johnson (Minneapolis, Minn./Henry Sibley HS) scored a career-high 21 points in the victory … CSS won despite scoring a season-low 18 points in the first half … It was the first win in Superior since 2007.
 
Where They Stand: The Saints are tied for first with the University of Northwestern and North Central University … CSS' only loss came against the University of Minnesota Morris … Northwestern fell to North Central and North Central lost to Bethany Lutheran College … UW-Superior is fourth in the league, a game behind the three teams.
 
Hot or Cold: There have been three games this season where the Saints have scored at least 50 points in a half … On the other end, there have been two games this year where the Saints have failed to score 20 points in a half … In the win against UW-Superior, CSS almost did both, scoring 18 points in the first half and 49 in the second half.
 
Focal "Point": Junior point guard Julius Johnson (Minneapolis, Minn./Henry Sibley HS) has scoring in double figures in three straight games … When Johnson hits double figures in scoring this season, the Saints are 6-2 … The Saints are also 6-2 when senior forward Andrew Laughlin (Duluth, Minn./Duluth Central HS) scores in double-figures.
 
Need Balance The Saints are 8-1 this season when at least three players score in double figures … They are 4-0 when five players score at least 10 points.

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Upcoming Opponents
Northwestern Eagles
Record: 12-2, 5-1 UMAC
 
Northwestern's two losses this season have been by a combined six points … The Eagles fell to Bethel University 64-62 in early December and dropped a home game to North Central 76-72 on January 2 … The Eagles are coming off a pair of convincing wins over Bethany Lutheran College and Martin Luther College last weekend … Five players average in double figures in scoring for the Eagles, including four starts and a reserve … Senior Michael Carney leads the way at 12.9 points per game … Senior forward Kyle Ooms leads the UMAC with a .676 field goal percentage and is second with 13 blocks … Junior guard Porter Morrell has the top assist-to-turnover ratio in the league at 3.4 … The staple of Northwestern basketball over the years has been defense and not turning the ball over … The Eagles lead the league in scoring defense (68.9) and fewest turnovers per game (9.7) … Northwestern advanced to the Sweet 16 in last year's NCAA Division III Tournament.
 
North Central Rams
Record: 6-7, 5-1 UMAC
 
The Rams are coming off a 78-75 loss at Bethany Lutheran College on Saturday … Three if their seven losses this season have been by three points … North Central is another balanced team with six players averaging in double figures in scoring … The team's leading scorer sophomore guard Travis Voigt missed a portion of the early season, but has averaged 18.3 points in the last three games … Sophomore forward Joe Cline is averaging 14.5 points per game and a team-best 6.8 rebounds per game … Senior guard Cody Martin leads the conference with 61 assists … The Rams are averaging the most made 3-point field goals per game (10.7) in the league this season, while holding opponents to a conference-low .308 3-point field goal percentage.
 
Series Histories:
-Northwestern leads CSS 49-25
-CSS leads North Central 19-8
 
Last Meetings: Northwestern eliminated the Saints in the UMAC Tournament semifinals last season in overtime 74-70 … The Eagles have won nine of the last 10 in the series, including the last four … North Central swept the season series against the Saints last season, winning by an average margin of seven points.

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Looking Ahead: The Saints are back at the Reif Gymnasium to host Bethany Lutheran College on January 22.