St. Peter, Minn. -- The Saint Benedict basketball team (5-2, 2-2 MIAC) won their second-nail biter in a row tonight (Dec. 11), defeating the Gusties of Gustavus (4-2, 1-2 MIAC) by a 76-73 score. The win was Head Coach Mike Durbin's 599th of his career, just one shy of the 600-win milestone.
 
The teams traded baskets evenly in the first half, a period that featured four tie ball games. The Blazers used six points from Mattie Lueck (Pequot Lakes, Minn.) to go on a 9-0 run in the first half, and took a 30-24 lead. That six point lead was the largest lead either team would hold in the game. The Blazers shot an impressive 15-for-28 (53.6%) from the field in the first half while holding the Gusties to 11-for-29 (37.9%). Their 53.6% is the Blazers' highest shooting percentage in one half this year.
 
The Gusties took the lead back from when a lay-up and free throw from senior guard Julia Dysthe at 18:52 gave them a 37-36 lead. The Gusties held a slight lead for the rest of the second half until 2:30 when two free throws from senior forward Morgan "Windex" Dale (Jamestown, N.D.) gave the Blazers a 67-65 lead they would never relinquish. A minute later a layup from senior forward Brianna Barrett (Annandale, Minn.) gave the Blazers a 71-66 lead and they held on to win 76-73.
 
Key to the victory was that the Blazers shot 26-for-29 (95.5%) from the free throw line, eclipsing their old season high of 77.4%. First-year point guard Annie Dittberner (New Prague, Minn.) was a perfect 11-for-11 (100%) from the charity stripe.
 
Lueck and Barrett scored 18 points each to lead the Blazers, with 18 setting is a new career high for Lueck, who also added six rebounds and two steals. Barrett has now led the team in scoring five times in seven games and improved her scoring average to 16.3 points per game.
 
Head Coach Mike Durbin will attempt to earn his 600th career win this Saturday when the Blazers will round out their three-game road trip at St. Thomas. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m.