St. Scholastica takes down Northwestern to clinch 2015-2016 men's basketball title
Sara Eisenhauer
DULUTH, Minn.---Following a competitive Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) men’s basketball season, the College of St. Scholastica emerged as the 2016 regular season champion with a dramatic 76-69 win over the University of Northwestern-St. Paul in a winner-take-all season finale Saturday.
After pulling off a huge win Friday and an upset of the Eagles by No. 5 seed University of Wisconsin-Superior, the stage was set for Saturday’s winner to take the title outright. The Saints used a late-game run to claim their fifth title in program history, first out-right crown and first UMAC championship since the 2008-2009 season.
With the win, the Saints have secured the No. 1 seed in the UMAC postseason tournament and the opportunity to host a UMAC semifinal contest next Wednesday, Feb. 24 against the winner of Monday’s quarterfinal between No. 4 University of Minnesota Morris and No. 5 University of Wisconsin-Superior.
The Saints won eight of their last nine games to finish the season 13-3 in the UMAC, while the Eagles entered the weekend with an eight-game winning streak before dropping the last two finishing 12-4 and one spot back for the No. 2 seed in the tournament.
Against UMAC opponents this season, the Saints have averaged a league-best 87.6 points per game (ppg) holding teams to 75.8 ppg. They have also outscored their opponents by nearly 12 points per game in UMAC play.
In other aspects of the game, the Saints boast a 6.1 rebounding margin over their conference foes and have limited teams to just 34.8 rebounds per game. They also average just over 10 turnovers a game and boast 16.4 assists per game – second-most in UMAC play.
Heading into the tournament, the Saints have a balanced offense with five players averaging double-digits in scoring against UMAC opponents. Leading the way is Andrew Laughlin with 12.8 ppg and a team-high 63.3 shooting average that ranks second-best in the UMAC.
Jake Naslund has also been solid for the Saints pouring in 12.3 ppg and shooting 51.5 percent from the field. He also leads the league in free throw shooting (87.5) while Julius Johnson – who averages 11.2 ppg – is just behind Naslund shooting 86.7 percent from the charity stripe.
Marc Peterson and Joe Stark each rank in the top 10 in conference play for 3-point shooting, while Laughlin leads the team in rebounding (5.6 per game). Johnson has also been a valuable playmaker for the Saints ranking in the top five for assists (4.6) and steals (1.6) per game.
With the St. Scholastica win, Northwestern lock ups the No. 2 seed and hosts a semifinal game against No. 3 North Central University Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. in St. Paul. The quarterfinal matchup Monday will feature No. 4 University of Minnesota Morris hosting No. 5 Wisconsin-Superior at 5:30 p.m. in Morris, Minnesota.