Notables
-CSS shot 61% in the second half
-Wilken had 18 points, 10 rebounds off the bench
-UNW made just two 3-pointers for the game
-UMAC Game of the Week
ST. PAUL, Minn. (
csssaints.com) – After trailing by one at halftime, the St. Scholastica men's basketball team opened the second half with an 11-0 run and then held off Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) rival University of Northwestern (Minn.) down the stretch to win 81-73 on Saturday.
How It Happened
The Eagles (4-2, 1-1 UMAC) held the lead for the better part of the first 10 minutes of the game until CSS went on a 7-0 run thanks to back-to-back 3-pointers by
Jarod Wilken (Annandale, Minn./Annandale HS). There were four ties and eight lead changes in the final 10 minutes of the first half and a layup in the final 30 seconds gave Northwestern a 38-37 halftime edge.
The Eagles outscored the Saints 30-18 in the paint and had a 10-0 advantage in second-chance points.
St. Scholastica came out of halftime with a layup by
Nick Carlson (Canyon, Minn./South Ridge HS). That was followed by an
Isiah Hendrickson (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East HS) 3-pointer.
Jack Silgen (Deerwood, Minn./Crosby-Ironton HS (St. Thomas)) then had a steal and layup and after two
Quinn Fischer (Esko, Minn./Esko HS) free throws, the one-point halftime deficit turned into a 10-point CSS lead three minutes into the second half.
The Saints led by 15 with 12 minutes remaining when Northwestern started to chip away. The Eagles made their first 3-pointer of the game with less than 10 minutes remaining and then added another to cut the margin to six. The CSS lead was trimmed to 73-71 with four minutes left.
However, Northwestern would not make another field goal the rest of the game and Wilken scored four of the final eight points for the Saints as CSS prevailed in the UMAC Game of the Week 81-73.
Top Performers
Carlson led all scorers with 26 points. Wilken finished with 18 points and a team-high 10 rebounds off the bench. Silgen scored 13 points and Hendrickson finished with 11 points.
Kyle Kaemingk finished with 21 points for the Eagles.
Up Next
The Saints (3-0, 2-0 UMAC) return to the Reif Gymnasium Wednesday night to host Northland College in conference matchup. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
