Notables
-Game featured six ties and 11 lead changes
-Neither team led by more than eight points
-CSS' Thompson scores a career-high 17 points
-Bench Points: CSS-29, UWEC-13
-UWEC improves to 17-0 all-time vs. CSS
DULUTH, Minn. (
csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica men's basketball team almost knocked off the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire for the first time ever on Thursday night at the Reif Gymnasium, but George Diekelman's layup as time expired gave the Blugolds a 75-74 victory.
Closing Moments
After Eau Claire held a narrow lead for the majority of the second half a
Joe Stark (Hayward, Wis./Hayward HS) 3-pointer gave the Saints a 70-68 advantage with 3:33 remaining. A
Dylan Zimmerman (Elmdale, Minn./Upsala HS) offensive rebound and put back extended the CSS lead to 72-68 with under two minutes remaining.
The Blugolds cut the margin in half with a jumper with under a minute to go. St. Scholastica would miss a shot on its possession, but got the offensive rebound. However, the Saints would turn it over after getting the rebound and the Blugolds had a chance to tie or take the lead. Eau Claire went for the lead as Chris Duff drained a deep 3-pointer with nine seconds left to give the Blugolds a 73-72 lead.
Following a timeout, the ball was inbounded to
Brandon Newman (Barnum, Minn./Barnum HS), who took the ball the length of the floor and converted the layup to give the Saints the lead back at 74-73 with 3.4 on the clock.
The Blugolds called a timeout to set up a play. A football pass on the inbounds wound at the top of the key where it was deflected. With Saints diving for the loose ball, it wound up in Diekelman's hands whose momentum was already going towards the hoop. He avoided one defender and put in the layup just as time expired to give Eau Claire the 75-74 victory.
Top Performances for CSS
Sam Thompson (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East HS) led the Saints with a career-high 17 points off the bench. Thompson made five 3-pointers. Newman added 16 points and a team-high seven assists.
Zach Dahlman (Braham, Minn./Braham HS) chipped in 11 points.
Connor Gray (Superior, Wis./Superior HS) grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.
Top Performances for the Opponent
Duff led five Blugolds in double figures with 26 points, including 18 points in the second half. Duff made four 3-pointers in the half and six for the game. Diekelman finished with 15 points.
Up Next
The Saints (2-4) are off until next Wednesday when they open up Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) action across the bridge at rival University of Wisconsin-Superior. Action is slated to begin at 5:30 p.m.
