Box Score
DULUTH, Minn. – The St. Scholastica men’s basketball team out-scored Martin Luther College 35-22 in the second half on its way to a 73-57 victory tonight at Reif Gym.
The Saints improve to 6-11 overall and 3-3 in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC). The Knights fall to 2-11 overall and remain winless in league play at 0-6. The Saints have won 11 straight games at home against UMAC opponents.
The Knights came out hot, hitting their first five field goals to take an early 12-0 lead. After a CSS timeout, the Saints responded with their own 12-0 run to tie it 12-12 with 12:31 to go in the half. The teams exchanged the lead until
Chris Hamers (
Jr.-Onamia, Minn.) scored eight straight points to put St. Scholastica up 26-18. The Saints held the lead the rest of the half and had a 38-35 advantage at the break.
CSS shot 67-percent in the first half, while the Knights shot 53-percent. The Saints were held without an offensive rebound in the half, but their bench had a 16-4 scoring advantage.
Martin Luther tied the game at 44-44 with 15 minutes to go in the second half. CSS answered with a 9-2 run and later led by 11 with nine minutes to go. The margin never got below double-digits the rest of the way as the Saints took care of the Knights 73-57.
The Saints shot 60-percent for the game, while the Knights shot just 30-percent in the second half to finish at 42-percent. CSS scored 20 points off turnovers and had a 36-26 edge in the paint.
Chris Hamers scored 23 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead St. Scholastica.
Brett Tester (
Fr.-Andover, Minn.) added 19 points, 13 of which came in the first half.
Danny Schmitz (
Jr.-Hinckley, Minn./Hinckley-Finlayson) chipped in 12. The conference’s leading scorer, the Knights’ Greg Holzhueter, had 22 to lead Martin Luther.
The Saints will face Bethany Lutheran College tomorrow afternoon at Reif Gym. The game is set to begin at approximately 5 p.m., following the women’s game. It can be seen live, courtesy of the iFan Sports Network, at csssaints.com.