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St. Peter, Minn. - The Saint Benedict basketball team survived the peaks and valleys of MIAC basketball tonight (Jan. 26), but found themselves on top as the final buzzer sounded, earning an important 68-66 road win over Gustavus.
 
After all the ups and downs and a combined 14 lead changes, the Blazers were left looking up in the weighing minutes of the game, trialing by four at 64-60 with 2:02 left to play. After getting within one less than a minute later, the Gusties went back up by three with a basket in transition, taking a 66-63 lead with just 1:16 left to play.
 
That would be the final basket for Gustavus.
 
A foul on the next trip down the floor sent Morgan Dale to the line for two, and after she made both the Blazers were back within one with 59 seconds to play. Dale would finish with 10 points on the day, as all five Blazer starters scored in double figures. An ensuing turnover by the Gusties led to a perfectly called timeout by Blazer head coach Mike Durbin. Coming out, CSB got a jumper under the basket from Brianna Barrett – two of her 14 on the night – and regained the lead for good.
 
The Gusties missed on their next possession, and when Mattie Lueck pulled down the rebound she was fouled. She made one of two at the line to put the Blazers up two at 68-66. The Gusties called a timeout with nine seconds left, but their shot at the buzzer was again off the mark, leaving the Blazers with the win. Lueck finished with 13, her second highest total of the season and third game in double figures.
 
With each team entering the day as part of a four-way tie for second, the Blazers improved to 14-4 on the year and 12-3 in the conference and now sit tied with only Saint Mary's in second place, still just a single game back of conference leader Concordia. Gustavus, meanwhile falls to 12-6 overall and 11-4 in the MIAC to drop to fourth.
 
In the first half, it looked as if the Gusties might take the game going away. After the teams traded baskets for the first six minutes, Gustavus went on an 11-to-0 run and took its biggest lead of the game at 19-10 with 11:30 left in the first half. From there, though, the Blazers answered with a 20-to-6 run and went up five after two Whitney Canton free throws made it a 30-25 CSB advantage with 2:44 left to play in the half.
 
Canton finished a perfect 5-of-5 at the line on the night, one of three players who didn't miss. As a team, the Blazers were nearly just as flawless, finishing 19-of-21. She  finished with 17 on the night, tying a season high, and gave the Blazers their biggest lead of the first half at 33-27 with a three-pointer with 1:15 left.
 
The Blazers led 33-30 at the break, and started the second half just as hot as they finished the first, opening up their own nine-point lead at 41-32 less than five minutes in with a Lueck lay-up.
 
They were still up eight as the clock ticked toward the midway point, but as was the case in the first, the momentum shifted and the Gusties answered. Gustavus used a 10-to-0 run to regain the lead at 52-50 with 6:31 left, setting in motion the back and forth action the played out in the final minutes before the Blazers finally secured the win.
 
Now with six wins in a row, the Blazers will again be in the road as they look for a seventh, heading to Bethel for a 7:30 p.m. appointment on Jan. 30.