Saints win Nailbitter

Mark Wilson – NSO

DULUTH, Minn. (csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica men’s basketball team swept the weekend with a 77-67 win against North Central University (Minn.) on Saturday night in the Reif Gymnasium, after coming off of a nail-biting one point victory over Northwestern on Friday.

The Action
Dylan Zimmerman (Elmdale, Minn./Upsala HS) started things off for the Saints with a layup that got things rolling. Zimmerman pulled in the first three baskets for the Saints. The Rams offense kept up with CSS, holding the lead to under five points for the first five minutes of the half. A good 3-pointer five minutes into the half gave the Rams a one point lead with a score of 11-10. Four unanswered points from the Saints, baskets coming from Zimmerman and Zach Dahlman (Braham, Minn./Braham HS)n, put the lead back into the hands of the Saints, but the teams traded baskets and the lead would switch four times over the course of seven minutes.

A 3-pointer by Nate Weets (Cloquet, Minn./Cloquet HS) put the Saints up 26-23, and CSS would go on to score five more points unanswered to push the lead to eight. The Rams managed a rally of their own with nine consecutive points to tie the score at 31-31 with just under three minutes left in the first half. Marc Peterson (Esko, Minn./Esko HS) sunk a shot from outside the arch, bringing in three points for CSS with just over two minutes left in the half. On the Rams’ next possession, Kory Deadrick (Esko, Minn./Esko HS) pulled in a rebound after two missed shots by North Central, and Brandon Newman (Barnum, Minn./Barnum HS) drove to the net for two to make the score 36-31 with 1:23 left on the clock. With 30 seconds left in the half, the Rams hit a layup to give the half its final score of 36-33.

The second half opened up with a successful 3-pointer from Julius Johnson (Minneapolis, Minn./Henry Sibley HS). The Saints kept a healthy lead, despite a run of four for the Rams two minutes into the half, and though they answered the Saints points, North Central was never able to gain a foothold that allowed them back into the game. With six and a half minutes left in the game, a Zimmerman free throw brought the score to 65-53, giving the Saints a 12 points lead – the largest of the game. For the next six minutes, the Rams would manage to shrink the point disparity to within eight, only to have it be extended by the Saints offense once more. Dahlmann finished the game out with a pair of free throws that put the score at 77-67, earning CSS the 10 point victory.

Notable Performances
Zimmerman led the Saints with a career-high nine rebounds and a career-high 18 points, going 7-for-9 on field goals. Newman was not far behind him with 14 points and five rebounds, going 6-for-6 on his free throws. Dahlmann, the third CSS player with double digit points, pulled in 12 with four rebounds. Joe Stark (Hayward, Wis./Hayward HS) collected five rebounds during the game.

For North Central (5-10, 3-7 UMAC), CJ Lewis led the team in points, with 18, followed by Jared High, who had 16 with seven rebounds. Levi Herrick tallied six rebounds.

Up Next
The Saints (10-8, 7-3 UMAC) hit the court next weekend against Northland College in Ashland on Friday at 7:30 p.m. On Saturday they head to Michigan to take on Finlandia. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m (ET).

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