Notables
-Senior Night for the Saints
-MLC has not had a win since November
-The Saints saw 57 points off the bench
-Five CSS players had more than 10 points
-CSS went 22-for-25 from the free throw line

DULUTH, Minn. (csssaints.com) - The St. Scholastica men's basketball team had no trouble handling the Martin Luther College Knights, earning a 98-80 victory in the final home game of the regular season on Saturday.

First Half Success
The Saints had a strong first half, outscoring the Knights 50-38, though it started out with a 7-0 run from Martin Luther. The offense was not to be discouraged so early in the game, and after only five minutes the Saints had the score tied at 11-11. The Knights hit a jumper to boost the score in their favor, followed immediately by a 3-pointer from Julius Johnson (Minneapolis, Minn./Henry Sibley HS) which gave the Saints their first lead of the game.

Another two points from the Knights put them ahead 15-14, and it was the last time they would have the point advantage. In the next three minutes, the Saints went on a 13-2 run, giving the Knights a lot of ground to cover. Martin Luther bounced back a little and managed to pull the lead to within three points with five minutes left in the half. The Saints answered with a 12-6 run to finish out the first half with a score of 50-38.

Solid Second 
The second half was a little more successful for the Knights, but the hole they had fallen into during the first half was a bit too deep to climb out of. A layup by Dylan Zimmerman (Elmdale, Minn./Upsala HS) followed by a Brandon Newman (Barnum, Minn./Barnum HS) 3-pointer pushed the lead to 17 points to start the second. With just under half of the second to play, the Saints had extended the point difference to 27 points with a score of 83-56. In the final eight and a half minutes, the Knights had made up some ground, but not enough. Even nine unanswered points in the final five minutes was enough to bring the lead into reach for MLC and the game ended with a final score of 98-80 in favor of St. Scholastica.

Notable Performances
Three players, Newman, Collin Anderson (Eagan, Minn./Eagan HS), and Sam Thompson (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East HS), wracked up 16 points over the course of the game. Newman went 6-for-7 on field goal attempts. Thompson and Anderson each shot 100 percent on free throws, going 4-for-4 and 6-for-6 respectively. Thompson scored all 16 of his points in the final 11 minutes of the game. Joe Stark (Hayward, Wis./Hayward HS) did well for himself too, with 11 points, followed by Zimmerman, who tallied 10 points. Kory Deadrick (Esko, Minn./Esko HS) led the team in rebounds, with seven. 

For Martin Luther (1-20, 0-13 UMAC), Ian Paulsen led with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Luke Rothe and Austin DeNoyer had 11 points apiece. 

Up Next
The Saints (13-9, 9-4 UMAC) are back in action next Saturday in a bridge battle against UW-Superior in Superior. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m, following the women's game.