Notables
-Six ties and six lead changes in the final five minutes
-Dahlman scored 11 of his 12 points in the second half
-Northwestern suffers first conference loss
-Free Throws: CSS (21-of-27), UNW (13-of-21)

---

 
DULUTH, Minn. (csssaints.com) – The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Game of the Week lived up to the hype with a total of 13 ties and 17 lead changes, a Zach Dahlman (Braham, Minn./Braham HS) layup with under 20 seconds remaining was the difference in the St. Scholastica men's basketball team's 75-74 victory over the University of Northwestern (Minn.) on Friday night at the Reif Gymnasium.
 
First Half
Neither team could separate itself in the first 20 minutes of play. The Eagles opened up a five-point advantage midway thru the half. A few minutes later with the Saints still trailing by five, Collin Anderson (Eagan, Minn./Eagan HS) and Kory Deadrick (Esko, Minn./Esko HS) drained back-to-back 3-pointers to put the Saints in front.
 
St. Scholastica then finished the first half on a 7-2 run thanks to a pair of 3-pointers by Anderson and Julius Johnson (Minneapolis, Minn./Henry Sibley HS) to give CSS a 38-33 halftime advantage.
 
Anderson led all scorers with 12 points in the half. CSS shot only 40 percent from the floor, while Northwestern shot 47 percent, but the Eagles were only 1-of-5 from beyond the arc.
 
Saints Stay in front, Eagles Rally
St. Scholastica stayed in front for the first 15 minutes of the second half, leading by as much as eight on a few occasions.
 
Northwestern began a rally with eight minutes remaining and down eight. Over the next four minutes the Eagles outscored the Saints 13-3 and took a 64-62 lead.
 
Back-and-Forth Down the Stretch
The final five minutes of play featured six ties and six lead changes. Following a timeout and the Eagles still holding a two-point lead with under three minutes remaining, Brandon Newman (Barnum, Minn./Barnum HS) tied the game for the 11^th time. Northwestern failed to score on the ensuing possession and Dylan Zimmerman (Elmdale, Minn./Upsala HS) for the Saints was able to grab an offensive rebound and put the Saints back in front with less than two minutes to play.
 
However, the Eagles responded on the next possession with a 3-pointer to go back in front. Both teams proceeded to trade free throws and Northwestern still led by one with a minute to go. Dahlman would be able to get to the foul line with 50 seconds left and convert both tries to make it 73-72 Saints.
 
Northwestern answered on the next possession with Cody Sprenger draining a tough baseline jumper to make it 74-73 Eagles with 36 seconds left.
 
It was St. Scholastica's turn to respond and once again it was Dahlman driving the middle of the lane and converting with 18 seconds left to make it 75-74 Saints. That meant that Northwestern had one last chance and solid CSS defense would force a tough jumper from the wing, which was off the mark and the Saints prevailed 75-74.
 
Top Performances for CSS
Newman dropped 21 points to lead the Saints offensively. Dahlman scored 11 of his 12 points in the second half. Deadrick finished with 10 points and Zimmerman had eight points and eight rebounds.
 
Top Performances for the Opponent
Porter Morrell led the Eagles (12-5, 8-1 UMAC) with 21 points. Sprenger added 18 points and also had four steals.
 
Up Next
The Saints (9-8, 6-3 UMAC) welcome North Central University (Minn.) to the Reif Gymnasium for Alumni Day tomorrow at 5 p.m. The action can be seen live on Saints Sports Net.