12/30/06

St. Scholastica raced to a 14 point halftime lead over North Central, then expanded their lead in the second half to pick up a 93-73 victory over the Rams in River Falls, Wis., on Saturday afternoon in the consolation game of the CHS Cooperatives Holiday Tournament hosted by UW-River Falls.

Senior Derek Johnson scored 14 of his team-leading 20 points in the opening half to help spur the Saints to their halftime lead. Three other Saints also reached double-figures in the victory as senior Will Maupins (18 points), and juniors Brady Zubke (16) and Eric Langdon (13) combined with Johnson to nearly outscore North Central themselves.

Sophomore Jesse Taylor scored the opening bucket in the game for the Saints who never trailed throughout the entire game. North Central tied the game at 11 but an 18-0 run by St. Scholastica -- aided by three consecutive 3-point field goals by Johnson -- broke the game wide open.

The Saints were able to double their halftime lead to 28 points midway through the second half and then coasted home for the win, outscoring the Rams 44 to 38 in the second half.

Typical pressure defense by the Saints (4-8 overall ) helped limit North Central (3-9) to 41 percent shooting from the field, while St. Scholastica finished the game at 53 percent.