01/14/06

St. Scholastica saw a 20 point halftime lead evaporate in the second half but hung on for a 79-76 win over the Knights at the Reif on Saturday evening.

The Saints cruised to their halftime bulge behind 59% shooting from the field and 56% from behind the 3-point arc.

Derek Johnson led all scorers in the half with 17 points including 5-8 shooting behind the 3-point line. William Maupins led all players in rebounds snaring 5 in the half while also registering 4 assists and a steal.

Johnson started the game off for the Saints hitting the teams' first three shots, all 3-pointers. Robert Jackson's 12 points and Andy Schmitz' 10 contributed mightily to the lead.

The second half was like a different game for the Saints, though.

As hot as they were early, they shot only 28% in the second half. Meanwhile, the Knights were on fire hitting 63% from the field as well as a 7-11 performance from 3-point land.

The halftime lead for the Saints steadily deteriorated until with 2 minutes to play, St. Scholastica clung to a 3 point lead.

Maupins then had two of the biggest rebounds of the game for the Saints.

With 1 minute to go he ripped down an errant Knight shot and kicked it out to Schmitz who moved possession down court.

Leading by three, the Saints only needed a deuce to make the game a two-possesion game with less than a 60 seconds to play. Schmitz' jumper was off the mark but Maupins was there once again to grab the offensive board -- the only one of his game total of 8 -- to keep the ball in the Saints' hands.

After a miss by the Saints, and a steal by Schmitz -- his game-leading fifth -- the Knights were forced to foul. Schmitz hit both ends of a one-and-one to push the Saints to a 5-point lead, but a 3-pointer from the Knights with 10 seconds left dropped the lead back to 2.

With Martin Luther again forced to foul, Johnson hit one of two at the line for the Saints to push their lead to 3.

A last second trey by the Knights was just off the rim, and as countless Saints eyes looked skyward in relief, the cautious celebration began.

The win moves the Saints' conference mark to 3-1, tied for the top spot in the UMAC. The Knights fall to 2-2 within the conference.