Duluth, MN. – The St. Scholastica Men's basketball team traveled over the bridge to Superior Wis. to compete in a nonconference matchup against the Yellowjackets of the University of Wisconsin Superior. The final score of the matchup was 73-84, with the Yellowjackets taking a narrow victory.
How It Happened
First Half
The first half opened up with the Yellowjackets commanding the floor, going on a six-point run to open things up. The Saints then got on the board with a three-pointer by Tanner Thompson, who went back down the court to prevent a scoring opportunity with a dominant block.
Koy Nelson (Port Wing, Wis./South Shore HS) hit a three to make it a tied game once again, at eight a piece.
Down by five, Moe Washington (Silver Spring, Md./Hibbing Community College) picked the ball off and passed it to Bryce Shoto (Owego, Il./Oswego East Highschool) who got a fast break layup, making it a three-point game.
The Yellowjackets held it down on defense, and turned up the intensity on offense, extending their three-point lead to eight.
Aaron Keykal (Princeton, Minn./Princeton HS) would then get in the books and record a steal to take the ball all the way down for a layup.
While the Saints were down for most of the first half, they recorded 15 points against the Yellowjackets 14 and managed to take the lead by one point to end the first half with a score of 38-37.
Second Half
The Saints were the first on the board in the second half, Thompson once again made a jumper, extending the Saints' lead to three points. Their lead did not last long, as the Yellowjackets scored six unanswered points, giving them an early five-point lead.
Still down as the clock ran on, the Saints managed to Keep the Yellowjackets within two points.
The Yellowjackets managed to pull away once again extending their lead to nine points.
Washington hit two back to back two pointers for the Saints, he was fouled on the second shot but missed the free throw.
Shoto found himself on the free throw line next, he went one for two, bringing the score to 62-66.
Keykal recorded a steal and moved the ball to Nelson who attempted to bring the Saints closer but missed the net on a fast break attempt.
Keykal also took to the line as the Yellowjackets began to rack up fouls, he went one for two at the line.
The Saints called a timeout with one minute and twenty seconds remaining in the game, down by ten points (65-75).
Both teams came out of the timeout ready to end the game strong, but they traded blows, and the deficit remained at ten.
Shoto committed a foul that gave the Yellowjackets two free throws, and they managed to make both.
Only five seconds later Shoto found himself on the line shooting two. He made both free throws, keeping the game exactly where it was before the fouls.
As the clock wound down, and the Saints began intentionally fouling, the Yellowjackets made their free throws along with the Saints who made two layups, however, it would not be enough for the win, and the Saints fell as the final buzzer sounded.
Up Next
The Saints (0-3, 0-0 MIAC) will stay home to play in their first home game of the season against the Eagles of the University of Northwestern (0-2) on Saturday, November 16. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.
