DULUTH, Minn. – The St. Scholastica men's basketball team celebrated its four seniors at the Reif Gymnasium, as CSS hosted the Concordia-Moorhead Cobbers. Concordia-Moorhead jumped out to an early lead in the first half, taking a 17-point lead into the halftime break, and despite the Saints cutting down the Cobbers lead to just nine, Concordia-Moorhead pulled away late in the contest, taking today's matchup by a score of 93-72.
How it Happened
First Half
After the Cobbers jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead, the Saints offense got itself going, as Aaron Keykal (Princeton, Minn./Princeton HS) and Moe Washington (Silver Spring, Md./Hibbing Community College) both got their first field goals of the contest, followed by a three-pointer from Jacquez Overstreet (Appleton, Wis./Oshkosh West (Marian University)) to cut the Saints deficit to 9-7.
Concordia-Moorhead was able to build upon their early lead, going on a 8-0 run, before Washington and Tanner Thomson (Woodbury, Minn./Stillwater High School) both got layups to fall, as well as Overstreet knocking down his second field goal.
Washington continued his hot start to the game, scoring his third field goal to make the score 18-15 in favor of the Cobbers at the 14:13 mark in the half.
The Cobbers expanded their lead over the next six minutes before the Saints got their next field goal on a three-pointer from Andre Crockett Jr. (Rochester, Minn./Mayo HS (Rochester Community College)), with the score sitting at 35-21.
Drelyn Jones (Leyden, Il./Leyden High School) and Kai Penney (Buffalo, Minn./Buffalo High School) each added their first points of the half with around six minutes to play in the opening half, but the Cobbers still held control of the contests, leading 43-25.
Overstreet helped get the Saints back into the groove of things at the 2:50 mark in the half, scoring on a beautiful looking floater to make the score 50-29.
Closing out the half, Overstreet expanded his point total to nine in the first half, scoring on a fadeaway jumper, followed by a pair of free throws from Kobe Karels (Cambridge, Minn./Isanti (Aurora University)) and a strong finish at the rim for Washington, but the Cobbers held a 52-35 lead over CSS at the halftime break.
Second Half
Thomson got off to a quick start to begin the second half, knocking down a jumper to get the second half started for CSS.
Overstreet and Thomson converted back-to-back three-pointers to trim the Saints' deficit to 62-43.
Following Penney's first field goal of the second half on a layup, Thomson drilled yet another three-pointer, but the Cobbers still held a sizable lead over the Saints.
Later in the half, Overstreet made a pretty finish at the rim and was able to convert the second-half of an and-one, bringing the score to 70-55.
Jones made his impact felt midway through the half, as the freshman knocked down a three-pointer, followed by a three-pointer from Thomson, as the Cobbers lead was diminished to 71-61.
Thomson's layup at the 7:52 mark helped get the Saints deficit to under double-digits, however the Cobbers responded with scoring on their next two possessions to bring their lead back to 13 points.
Moments later, Overstreet got another three-pointer to fall, but Concordia-Moorhead immediately responded with a three-pointer of their own, as the Saints still trailed by 13 points.
A Washington three-pointer and fastbreak layup with less than four minutes to play helped get the Saints generate some energy, but the Cobbers continued to knock down shots of their own, as the Saints trailed 87-72.
Despite late attempts by Ethan Russell (Minneapolis, Minn./Henry Sibley HS) and Washington to generate a Saints comeback, the Cobbers were able to come away with a 93-72 victory.
Up Next
The Saints (8-15, 4-10 MIAC ) will be back in action next Wednesday, February 19, where they will wrap up their home season as they will host the Royals from Bethel University. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
