Box Score ST. PAUL – The St. Scholastica men's basketball team's attempt to come back and take down second-seeded Northwestern College fell short in the final minute of the game and the season came to an end with a 79-73 loss in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Tournament semifinals Wednesday night.

The opening minutes of the game saw Northwestern jump out to a 16-6 lead with just under six minutes gone by.  CSS came back on a 6-0 run to make it 20-17 with 8:40 left in the first half.  The Eagles would extend the lead to as much as 20 before taking a 45-30 lead into the break.

The second half saw the Saints chip away at the Northwestern lead, cutting it to 52-46 with 14:41 left in the contest.  Northwestern would use a 7-0 run to take a 15-point lead with 12:38 left to play.  The teams would trade baskets as Northwestern maintained a double-digit lead for an eight minute span.

At the 4:37 mark, the Saints began to make a push.  The Saints would score back-to-back 3-pointers and then would get a fast break lay-up by Derek Steve (St. Cloud, Minn./St. Cloud Apollo HS) to cut the led to three points, 76-73, with 1:18 remaining in the ball game. 

The Saints would then turn the ball over in the next two ensuing possessions and three free throws sealed the deal for the Eagles as they advanced to the UMAC Tournament Final with a 79-73 victory.

For Northwestern (16-10), Tom Gisler led all scorers, dropping 25 points.  Two other Eagles scored 18 points in the winning effort.  The Eagles would finish shooting 50-percent from the field, 46-percent from beyond the arc, and 67-percent from the free-throw line.

The Eagles would collect 43 total rebounds and commit 12 turnovers.  The largest lead held by the Eagles was 20 points.

St. Scholastica was led by Steve who had a team-high 19 points.  Chris Hamers (Onamia, Minn./Onamia HS) closed out his CSS career scoring 16 points.  Brett Tester (Andover, Minn./Andover HS) chipped in 13 points, while grabbing seven rebounds.  Jonah Dahlman (Braham, Minn./Braham HS) added ten points and seven assists.

The Saints would finish shooting 41-percent from the field, 39-percent from beyond the arc, and 82-percent from the free-throw line.  The Saints would grab 33 total rebounds and commit a season-low four turnovers.

The Eagles move on to face Bethany Lutheran College in the UMAC Tournament championship Saturday in Mankato. The Saints' season will end with a 13-13 record. The Saints will have to say goodbye to seniors Chris Hamers (Onamia, Minn./Onamia HS) and David Walsh (Melbourne, Australia/St. Kevin’s HS (Vermilion CC)). Thanks for Chris and David on wonderful careers.

For future news on the St. Scholastica men's basketball program, keep checking csssaints.com.