Duluth, Minn. - The St. Scholastica Men's Basketball team competed at home today against the Scots of Macalester College for the first game of the new year. The Scots took an early lead in the first half, and the Saints went to great lengths to fight back into contention. But the Saints fell just short with a final score of 69-75.
Three Saints recorded double-digit point games, as Mo Washington dropped 18 points and was 50% from three-point range.
Koy Nelson (Port Wing, Wis./South Shore HS) tallied 17 points and went 7-14 from FG range.
Jacquez Overstreet (Appleton, Wis./Oshkosh West (Marian University)) secured 16 points during his 32 minutes of play.
How it Happened
1st Half
The Saints and the Scots exchanged bucket for bucket in the opening five minutes of play, until the Scots made a big push for the lead after they sunk two three-pointers in a row. But it would not last long with
Jacquez Overstreet (Appleton, Wis./Oshkosh West (Marian University)) returning the favor immediately. Macalester led 15-10 with 14 minutes to play in the half.
Macalester held a consistent lead through most of the first half, as they capitalized on any open space they could in the offensive end.
Near the midway point of the half, the Scots held an 11-point lead, which put the Saints in a tough spot to battle back.
Kobe Karels (Cambridge, Minn./Isanti (Aurora University)) and
Koy Nelson (Port Wing, Wis./South Shore HS) produced two all-star-level plays to secure back-to-back three-pointers, bringing the score to 26-21.
Following the St. Scholastica push, both teams were seen snagging multiple rebounds but could not finish with a basketball. As the first-half clock clicked down, it was a defensive game.
After a few minutes of no points from either team, the Saints brought the score within two points as Mo Washington secured points off of a free throw attempt and a layup.
Tanner Thomson (Woodbury, Minn./Stillwater HS) would add a good layup for the Saints at 5:16.
It was a Macalester game from there on out, scoring an additional 13 points in the last five minutes. The Scots led 41-28 after the first half.
2nd Half
Nelson opened up the scoring in the second half with an early jumper for his 10th point of the game. As a team, the Saints had better communication and ball movement following halftime.
It was still a Macalester game as the score hit 51-36 at the 14:55 mark until senior star Overstreet drained two consecutive three-pointers to bring energy back to the Saints bench and hit double-digit points on his stat sheet.
Washington took the Overstreet energy into his own hands and made his second three of the game to close the gap to six points.
Macalester continued to control the game, despite the Saints scoring several valuable points to try to come back. With a little extra intensity in the final seconds of play, the Scots took the win 75-69.
Up Next
The Saints will be back in action this Wednesday, January 8 at 5:30 p.m. at home against St. Olaf College for a MIAC matchup.
