Notables
- With tonight's win, St. Scholastica has at least clinched a No. 2 seed for the UMAC tournament
- The Saints are now 10-0 at home this season, 13th straight win overall
- Tomorrow's game against Northwestern will determine the conference champion
- St. Scholastica never trailed in the game
DULUTH, Minn. (csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica men's basketball team started its weekend strong, taking down the North Central University Rams by a final score of 97-79 on Friday night at the Reif Gymnasium.
First Half
St. Scholastica came out of the gates on fire, scoring the first seven points of the game before the Rams were finally able to get on the scoreboard. An early put-back dunk by Andrew Laughlin (Duluth, Minn./Duluth Central HS) gave the Saints a surge of momentum as they found themselves up 11-3 with just four minutes having gone by in the game.
The Rams then went on a run of their own to eventually tie the game at 16, only to find themselves down 41-29 a few minutes later thanks to three Marc Peterson (Esko, Minn./Esko HS) three-pointers. Peterson hit all three of his threes within three minutes of each other, followed by threes from Joe Stark (Hayward, Wis./Hayward HS) and Zach Dahlman (Braham, Minn./Braham HS).
The teams traded baskets back and forth for the rest of the half, with the last basket being scored by St. Scholastica's Nate Weets (Cloquet, Minn./Cloquet HS) on a three-pointer from the top of the key to make the score 50-36 in favor of CSS.
Second Half
The Saints and Rams played an even game for the first five minutes of the second half, with both teams hitting tough shots and playing good defense. The Rams got to within 11 points, but after two baskets from Jake Naslund (Barnum, Minn./Barnum HS) and a three from Kory Deadrick (Esko, Minn./Esko HS) the Saints pulled ahead to a comfortable 68-50 lead.
North Central wasn't going to go away quietly, however, as they went on a 16-8 run to bring the game back to within 10 points with under seven minutes remaining. They then proceeded to make the game even closer after back-to-back three-pointers from Travis Voigt and Cody Martin, making the score 78-72.
Weets took the North Central momentum away on the next possession by converting on an and-one opportunity to give the Saints a nine-point lead with under five minutes left in the game. Dahlman and Brandon Newman (Barnum, Minn./Barnum HS) each followed up with a pair of free throws to get the Saints back up by double-digits. Voigt hit another three for the Rams to try and spark a last-minute comeback, but the Saints turned on the burners and ended the game with a 97-79 victory over North Central.
Top Performers
St. Scholastica was led by Laughlin, who recorded a game-high 20 points and 11 rebounds for a double-double. Stark poured in 15 points on the night, and Brandon Newman (Barnum, Minn./Barnum HS) had a team-high seven assists.
North Central was led by Cody Martin, who had a team-high 18 points. Isaiah Rustad had a nice night for himself as well, scoring 16 points and hauling in eight rebounds for the Rams.
Up Next
The Saints will close out their regular season at home tomorrow afternoon with a conference championship showdown against the University of Northwestern Eagles. The winner of the game will earn the regular season conference title and receive the No. 1 seed heading into the tournament. The game is slated to start at 3 p.m.
