Notables
-Newman now four points shy of 1,300 career points
-CSS out-rebounded by a season-high 19
-CSS 7-of-15 from the free throw line, entered 17th in NCAA DIII in FT Pct.
DE PERE, Wis. (
csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica men's basketball team had a desperation heave at the buzzer come up short in a 81-78 loss to the University of Wisconsin-River Falls on Friday to begin the Nicolet National Bank Holiday Tournament.
How it Happened
The Saints scored the first five points of the game and led for the first five minutes of the game. However, the Falcons (6-4) took their first lead of the game with a 3-pointer at the 15:26 mark. River Falls led by as much as seven before CSS crawled back in and a
Jarod Wilken (Annandale, Minn./Annandale HS) layup with less than five minutes left in the half gave the Saints a 29-28 lead.
However, the Falcons responded with a 12-2 run to lead by seven once again and went into halftime with a 40-35 advantage. UWRF out-scored the Saints 18-4 in points off turnovers in the first half.
The Saints came out of the locker room strong with a 13-4 run, capped off by a
Quinn Fischer (Esko, Minn./Esko HS) 3-pointer to make it 48-44 St. Scholastica. River Falls responded again by scoring 18 of the next 25 points to build its biggest lead of 11 at the midway point of the second half.
Nate Weets (Cloquet, Minn./Cloquet HS) got the Saints back in it with back-to-back 3-pointers, but the Falcons grew the lead back to 10. It would be Weets again with back-to-back treys with five minutes left to make it 73-71.
St. Scholastica got within two on two more occasions, but would not get a possession to tie or take the lead until the final four seconds when after two missed free throws, the Saints quickly advanced it over half court and Fischer's heave fell short as River Falls held on for the 81-78 victory.
Top Performances for CSS
Wilken had a solid stat line with 16 points, a team-high seven rebounds and four blocked shots.
Collin Anderson (Eagan, Minn./Eagan HS) also had 16 points. Fischer finished with 15 points and Weets had 14 points.
Brandon Newman (Barnum, Minn./Barnum HS) had six assists and three steals
Top Performances for UWRF
Austin Heidecker had a game-high 21 points to lead the Falcons. He also had 12 rebounds for a double-double.
Up Next
The Saints (4-6) will face the loser of host, St. Norbert College (Wis.), and Alma College (Mich.) on Saturday at 5 p.m.
