Box Score
DULUTH, Minn. – The St. Scholastica men’s basketball team has defeated two unbeaten conference teams in back-to-back nights following a 63-56 victory over the University of Minnesota-Morris this evening in Reif Gym.
The Saints improve to 4-10 overall and 2-2 in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC). The Cougars fall to 4-8 overall and 3-1 in the conference. The Saints have won nine of the last 10 in the series.
The Cougars got off to a hot start and had an early 11-2 lead. CSS then went on an 8-0 run to cut the lead to one with 15 minutes left in the half. Later in the half, the Saints went on a 6-0 run and took their first lead at 16-15 with 8:40 left before halftime.
The lead went back-and-forth over the next five minutes until the Saints closed the half on a 7-0 run to take a 32-25 advantage.
The Saints shot 39-percent from the field, while the Cougars shot 33-percent. Morris had a big edge in rebounding at 23-13. The Cougars did commit 11 turnovers that led to 14 CSS points.
Morris started the second half on an 8-0 run to take a 33-32 lead with 16 minutes left. CSS went on a 10-3 run halfway through the second half to take a six-point lead. The Saints would not relinquish the lead as they answered whatever Morris had to offer to make the final score 63-56.
The Saints shot 44-percent for the game, while Morris shot 31-percent. The Cougars were 17-for-19 from the free throw line and out-rebounded CSS 44-29, but the Saints owned the points off turnovers category 24-12. The St. Scholastica bench also played well, out-scoring the Morris bench 27-12.
Danny Schmitz (
Jr.-Hinckley, Minn./Hinckley-Finlayson) led the way for the Saints with 16 points.
Derek Anderson (
Jr.-Cook, Minn.), who had a career-high 16 points last night, added 15 points and
Chris Hamers (
Jr.-Onamia, Minn.) scored 12 points off the bench.
Jonah Dahlman (
Fr.-Braham, Minn.) had six assists. Phil Allen scored 15 points to lead the Cougars.
The Saints will host Finlandia University (Mich.) in non-conference action on Tuesday night at Reif Gym. The action will begin at approximately 7:30 p.m. following the women’s game. It can be seen live, courtesy of the iFan Sports Network, at csssaints.com.