12/09/06

Led by 27 points from senior guard Will Maupins and 18 points from both Derek Johnson and Brady Zubke, the Saints pulled off a 96-87 victory over the visiting Northland College Lumberjacks.

The first fifteen minutes of play saw back-and-forth action from the Saints and 'Jacks. A 3-pointer by Tom Hazuka put St. Scholastica up 23-21, and the Saints used a 5-0 run to extend their lead to 28-21.

With the score at 31-23, another Saints' 3-pointer, this time by Nate Griff, began a 14-0 run for the Saints. The first half ended with a comfortable 44-27 CSS lead.

The second half was a different story as Northland scored 52 points to the Saints' 35, pushing the game to extra time.

With 22 seconds remaining in regulation, the score sat tied at 77-77. After a missed CSS free throw and two good free throws by the 'Jacks' Mitch Oetken, Northland had the two-point advantage and only nine seconds remained for the Saints to make their come back.

Receiving the inbound pass, Maupins streaked down the right side and got a solid jumper off with less than 1 second remaining to send the game to overtime.

The Saints dominated the extra time, outscoring the 'Jacks 17-8 and going 7-7 from the field, to give them the 96-87 victory.

Four 'Jacks scored in double figures as Aaron Arneson led the scoring attack with 27 points. Dylan Ring and Oetken each added 17 and Jordan Arneson had 10.

For St. Scholastica, Griff had a team-high 6 rebounds while Maupins and Zubke both had 5. Zubke also added a team-high 7 assists.

With his 18 points, Johnson moved into sixth place in the Saints' all-time scoring list. His current total stands at 1,037 points, and he now trails fifth place Kraig Erickson ('81-'83) by 235 as Erickson scored 1,272 points in his career.

St. Scholastica climbs to 3-5 and 1-0 in UMAC play with the victory while Northland moves to 2-4 overall (0-1 UMAC).

The Saints now head into over a month of road games as they face the UW-Eau Claire Blugolds on the road on Tuesday, Dec. 12. Action won't return to the Reif until the Saints' Jan. 12 meeting with Northwestern College.