Notables 
-CSS' Stark poured in a career-high 29 points, making eight 3-point field goals
-The Saints scored 19 points off of turnovers and had 14 second chance points in the game
-CSS had five players score in double figures
-St. Scholastica is now a half game out of first place in the UMAC standings trailing just the 9-2 Northwestern Eagles
-Morris shot 59 percent from the field for the game, but committed 20 turnovers.  

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DULUTH, Minn. (csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica men's basketball team defeated the University of Minnesota Morris 92-84 Friday night in a key Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) matchup in the Reif Gymnasium behind a career-high 29 points by Joe Stark (Hayward, Wis./Hayward HS).
 
First Half
The first three minutes of the game were played quite evenly with CSS trailing by just one point at 9-8 with 17:29 left to play in the first half.
 
The Saints would then rattle off an 8-0 run in just under two minutes highlighted by back-to-back 3-pointers by Stark and Zach Dahlman (Braham, Minn./Braham HS) . At the end of the run CSS found themselves up 16-9 with 15:42 to go.
 
CSS would maintain their slim lead for the remainder of the half, going up by as many as 10 points on a Nate Weets (Cloquet, Minn./Cloquet HS) layup with just over eight minutes remaining. Weets scored seven straight points at one point in the half
 
The Saints would take an 11 point lead following a 5-point possession when Stark drained a 3-pointer and Brandon Newman (Barnum, Minn./Barnum HS) made two foul shots after he was fouled away from the ball to make 42-31 with 3:09 to go in the half. The Saints went into the locker room up 45-37.
 
Second Half
After scoring 15 points in the first half, Stark rattled off five straight points to open the second and within 30 seconds the Saints led 50-37. 
 
The Saints maintained their double digit lead for the next 11 minutes of game time, building their lead as high as 16 points on a Jake Naslund (Barnum, Minn./Barnum HS) 3-pointer with 11:47 left in the game. 
 
The Cougars would cut the lead down to single digits with 8:06 to go in the game, and with 7:29 trailed only 74-68. Another Stark 3-pointer extended the lead back to 10 with under three minutes to play and a thunderous throwdown by Andrew Laughlin (Duluth, Minn./Duluth Central HS) put the game out of reach.
 
CSS made 6-of-6 free throws in the last 60 seconds of the game and at the final buzzer the Saints found themselves up on the scoreboard with at 92-84 win.
 
Top Performers for CSS
Stark finished the game with a career-high 29 points to lead all scorers, while Newman finished with 15 points and five rebounds. Laughlin added 13 points with Johnson and Weets each chipping in 10 points. Johnson led the Saints with seven rebounds.
 
Top Performers for Morris
CD Douglas poured in 26 points with nine rebounds and six assists. Joe Roggenbuck added 18 points and Anthony Fisher had 11 points. The Cougars shot 59 percent from the field for the game, but committed 20 turnovers. Morris had a 48-28 advantage in the paint.

Up Next
St. Scholastica (14-7, 9-3 UMAC) will next be in action tomorrow when it hosts Crown College with that game set to tip off at 3 p.m. in the Reif Gymnasium. Follow the action live on Saints Sports Net.