Game of the Week: St. Scholastica at Bethany Lutheran - Men's Basketball
UMAC Game of the Week Archives
ST. PAUL -- The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Game of the Week is a feature that takes place each week throughout the conference portion of the season with one contest being selected and highlighted as the UMAC Game of the Week.
This week's UMAC Game of the Week features the College of St. Scholastica and Bethany Lutheran College men's basketball teams on Friday, February 7 at 7:30 p.m. in Mankato. The Saints and the Vikings both own 4-4 UMAC records and are currently tied for fourth place in the conference. With the top four teams from the regular season advancing to the UMAC Postseason Tournament, both teams will be hungry for a win on Friday evening. In the previous meeting this season the Saints earned an 86-84 overtime win.
About the Saints
The St. Scholastica men's basketball team began the second half of conference play with a 72-55 victory at Northland on Tuesday. The Saints shot a season-best 56 percent from the floor in Tuesday night's win in Ashland. CSS, who averaged nearly 25 3-point attempts in each of the prior four games, had only 13 attempts on Tuesday and made seven. The .538 3-point percentage was also a season-high.
The Saints are currently tied for fourth place with the Vikings of Bethany Lutheran and both teams sit two games back of the three-way tie for first place in the league. The Saints will play four of its final six games on the road. Trevor Morlock leads the team in scoring averaging 14.2 points per game. Morlock has scored at least 13 points in six of the first eight league games this season. Jake Naslund had 17 points against Northland, which was the first time he scored in double-figures since mid-January at Minnesota Morris.
About the Vikings
Friday's matchup is a battle between two teams who are currently tied for fourth place in the conference. With two weekends of play left following this weekend, this is a crucial game for both teams.
After not seeing much playing time throughout his first three seasons, senior forward Jacob Wensmann is certainly making up for lost time. He leads the conference in rebounding at 8.2 per game is third in scoring at 17.2 a clip and has recorded five double-doubles.
Bethany's shooting has really picked up at the right time of the season. Three games ago against Crown, they had their best shooting effort of the season making 54.8 percent of their shots. In their last outing against Martin Luther, they hit 21-of-24 from the foul line, including 15-of-16 in the second half.
Game Notes
- The first meeting between the Saints and Vikings this season was an overtime thriller. The game featured 17 lead changes. CSS pulled it out 86-84.
- Bethany had won eight straight games in the series prior to the Saints overtime win January 25.
- The Saints are 2-7 all-time in Mankato. The last road wins over the Vikings took place in January of 2009.
- The Vikings have won four straight at home over the Saints.
- The Saints lead the conference in rebounds per game (36.6) and are second in blocks per game (2.8).
- In conference games, Bethany is second in the league in both 3-point shooting (39.8 percent) and free throw shooting (73.7 percent).
Bethany Lutheran Recap |
St. Scholastica Recap |
Final Score: BLC 81, CSS 64
For information on other contests around the league this week, visit the UMAC's live scoreboard.