Notables
-Silgen scored 25 of his 29 points in the second half
-Fischer eclipse 800 career points
-Points in the Paint: BLC-60, CSS-22
-First neutral site meeting between the two programs since CSS def. BLC in the 2007 UMAC Tournament semifinals at Northwestern
DUBUQUE, Iowa (
csssaints.com) – Senior
Jack Silgen (Deerwood, Minn./Crosby-Ironton HS (St. Thomas)) scored a career-high 29 points, but just one other Saint was in double figures as the St. Scholastica men's basketball team fell to its former conference foe Bethany Lutheran College 81-68 on Thursday to conclude play at the Loras College (Iowa) Holiday Classic.
How It Happened
Silgen had the first basket of the game a little over a minute into the contest. Unfortunately for the Saints, that was their only lead of the game. CSS would make its second field goal with 12:30 left in the first half and by that point the Vikings (5-7) had built a 14-5 lead.
Bethany extended the lead to 14 with four minutes left in the first half, but a
Noah Winesett (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East HS) layup and an
Isiah Hendrickson (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East HS) 3-pointer in the final 40 seconds of the half made the halftime score 39-33 Bethany. CSS was held to 38% shooting in the first half, while the Vikings shot 49%.
Silgen drained a 3-pointer on the opening possession of the second half to make it a three-point game and then made a jumper to make it 39-38 two minutes in. Silgen scored the first 11 points of the second half for the Saints.
As much as Silgen tried to keep the Saints in the game, the Vikings maintained a slim lead and that lead would grow to double-digits with 12 minutes remaining and would stay there the rest of the way as Bethany went on to win by a final of 81-68.
Top Performers
Silgen scored 25 of his game-high 29 points in the second half, going 9-for-13 from the field in the half, including 4-of-5 from beyond the arc. St. Scholastica as a team, scored 35 points in the second half.
Nick Carlson (Canyon, Minn./South Ridge HS) was the only other Saint in double-figures with 14 points.
Quinn Fischer (Esko, Minn./Esko HS) grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds.
Brian Smith led four Vikings in double-figures with 19 points. Hunter Nielsen added 13 points and 13 rebounds.
Up Next
The Saints (1-8) return to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) action on Wednesday when they travel to face Hamline University at 7 p.m. in St. Paul.
