Duluth, Minn. - The St. Scholastica Men's Basketball team took on another MIAC competitor today, the Cardinals of Saint Mary's University (MN) on their home court. An elite showing by the Saints in the first half was enough for an 11-point win of 77-66.
How it Happened
1st Half
The Saints controlled the entirety of the first half by a score of 41-28. They had positive numbers from the free throw line (75%) and field goal range (51.43%).
Midway through the half, the Cardinals took a five-point lead, but it would not last long as the remaining 10 minutes showed off the Saints' skill level.
Tanner Thomson (Woodbury, Minn./Stillwater HS) tallied two layups in the paint just minutes apart to help rally back the lead.
In the first half, the Saints scored 28 points in the paint.
Aaron Keykal (Princeton, Minn./Princeton HS), who secured 11 rebounds in the match, was vital in preventing a Cardinal win.
Nearing the end of the first half,
Koy Nelson (Port Wing, Wis./South Shore HS) had back-to-back layups for the Saints to keep the energy on the Saints side.
2nd Half
The Cardinals attempted to make a big push in the second half, knowing they faced a deficit. The Cardinals secured more points, but not enough to recover from the Saints' success in the first half. The Cardinals took the second half 38-36.
With the Saints' ongoing need to defend, the Cardinals scored 12 points off of turnovers this time around.
Three Saints found their way to double-digit points, with Thomson recording 19 and Keykal following close behind with 18. Nelson also danced around the paint for a total of 15 points.
Kai Penny emerged from the match with a series of positive statistics, going 3-4 from the FT line and dropping two picture-perfect three-pointers. As a team, the Saints had an FT% of 72.73.
Up Next
The Saints are not 1-1 in MIAC play and will head into another non-conference match next Friday, December 13 against the University of Minnesota Morris. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. in the Reif Gym.
