Game of the Week: St. Scholastica at UW-Superior - 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 Game of the Week will take place on Saturday, January 9th at 3 p.m. as the College of St. Scholastica crosses the bridge to the University of Wisconsin-Superior in men's basketball action. The first ever UMAC matchup between the two teams is sure to be a battle as both the Saints and Yellowjackets share a conference record of 4-1, and a tie for the number two spot in the UMAC standings.
About the Saints
The Saints suffered their first conference loss of the season on Sunday with a 91-75 setback at the University of Minnesota Morris. Prior to the loss the Saints were 4-0 in UMAC play for the first time since the 1997-98 season. Seniors Andrew Laughlin and Jake Naslund have combined to lead the team in scoring in each of the last seven games. Naslund leads the team overall with 12.4 points per game. Laughlin is averaging 11.6 per game and is third in the conference with a .569 field goal percentage and second with 12 blocked shots.
Freshman Brandon Newman is averaging 11.8 points per game and is third in the league with 21 steals. CSS has attempted the second-most 3-pointers per game in the conference (25.9), but rank only eighth with a .318 3-point field goal percentage. The Saints are out-scoring teams by 47 points in the first half, but are being out-scored by 44 in the second half this season.
About the Yellowjackets
The 2015-16 season marks the Yellowjackets first in the UMAC after more than 100 years in the WIAC. The Yellowjackets have two players in the top five for scoring in the UMAC; Zach Schradle who is averaging 19.7 points per game and Brian Lindblom who averages 18.4 points per game. Schradle is also in the top five in rebounds per game and field goal percentage, while leading the conference in 3-point percentage at 55.9%. That places him four percent higher than the next closest shooter.
After opening the season 0-4, the Yellowjackets have gone on to win seven of their next 10 games, with the only losses coming at the hands of Bethany Lutheran, St. Olaf and Division II Minnesota Duluth. The hot stretch has helped the Yellowjackets come within their win total from all of last season.
Game Notes
-The Saints have not won in Superior since 2007.
-The Yellowjackets roster features seven players from outside of the United States, with three from Australia and one each from Switzerland, Denmark, Spain, and the Netherlands.
-CSS has scored over 100 points twice this season for the first time since the 2000-01 season.
-The Yellowjackets have not lost to St. Scholastica since Paul Eberhardt became head coach, going 5-0 since 2012-13.
-CSS features two players from the 2014 Class AA State Championship Esko High School squad in Marc Peterson and Kory Deadrick
-Zach Schradle had a stretch from December 5 through December 30 where he had four double-doubles (points and rebounds) in five games.
-Deadrick is the son of UW-Superior volleyball coach Lynne Deadrick
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