Notables
-CSS' fifth UMAC Championship game appearance in the last six seasons
-Season-high 11 points for Goggleye
-Rebounds: UNW 39, CSS 28
-Second Half FG Pct.: UNW-54%, CSS-36%
DULUTH, Minn. (
csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica men's basketball team was held to a season-low 61 points as the University of Northwestern (Minn.) handed the Saints their first loss of the season 74-61 Monday night in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Tournament championship game at the Reif Gymnasium.
How It Happened
The Saints led for much of the first half, over 15 minutes, with the first 20 minutes featuring just five lead changes and two ties, despite neither team leading by more than five points. Sophomore
Cade Goggleye (Nett Lake, Minn./North Woods HS) scored the opening five for the Saints.
CSS opened up its biggest lead of the half after a
Nick Carlson (Canyon, Minn./South Ridge HS) free throw to make it 31-26 with 3:14 remaining before halftime. However, the Eagles closed the half on an 8-2 run to take a 34-33 lead.
Northwestern outscored the Saints 24-12 in the paint in the half and had 10 offensive rebounds.
Carlson gave the Saints lead with the first bucket of the second half, but the Eagles responded with six straight points to go up by five. St. Scholastica got back within two on a couple of occasions until an 8-0 Northwestern run pushed the margin to 10 with 14 minutes to go. The Saints could get closer than eight the rest of the way as Northwestern's shots fell and CSS could not buy a bucket as Northwestern prevailed 74-61.
Top Performers
Carlson led the Saints with 14 points with Goggleye adding 11 points.
Jarod Wilken (Annandale, Minn./Annandale HS) led the team with nine rebounds.
Noah Alm led all scorers with 24 points for the Eagles and was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.
End of Season
The Saints (10-1) conclude their play in the UMAC and will look toward 2021-22 when they join the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC). CSS says goodbye to one senior in
Jarod Wilken (Annandale, Minn./Annandale HS). Wilken ends his career with 905 points in 82 games and 87 blocked shots, second-most in program history.
For future news on the St. Scholastica men's basketball program; keep checking csssaints.com.
