ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – The College of Saint Benedict basketball team got 2014-15 started on the right foot Saturday afternoon when it defeated Minnesota-Morris 50-43 in the second game of the Quinlivan & Hughes Tip-Off Tournament at Claire Lynch Hall in St. Joseph, Minn.
 
The Blazers, who were down much of the first half and led by a single points, 21-20, at halftime, took advantage of Morris miscues and used some timely shots to pull away for the win.
 
Saint Benedict led by 10 points midway through the second half, 38-28, but Morris started to make a comeback. The Cougars, who won the UMAC title in 2013-14, used back-to-back baskets to cut the lead to four, 38-34, with 5:46 left to play. A layup by Elena Koch made it a six-point game, but Morris hit back-to-back baskets again to cut the lead to two points, 40-38, with 3:34 remaining.
 
A jumper by Kayla Kraemer got Morris within two, and Tori Holt went 1-for-2 at the line to make it a one-point game, 42-41, with 1:51 to play, but Abby Miller scored on a layup and hit the free throw after being fouled to give the Blazers some room, up 45-41 with 1:24 to play.
 
Holt went 1-for-2 at the line a second time to make it a three-point game with 1:14 left to play, but Annie Dittberner hit a 3-pointer to put CSB up six, 48-42, with just under a minute to play. Mattie Lueck hit a pair of free throws with 21 seconds left to seal the win for Saint Benedict.
 
The Cougars led by eight, 13-5, early in the game thanks in part to a three by Kendra Wycoff. A jumper by Lueck and a pair of free throws by Miller made it a two-point game, but Morris was able to hold onto its lead. A pair of free throws by Emily Lueck gave CSB its first lead of the game, 19-18, with 1:16 left in the first half, and Nikki Fokken hit a jumper to put CSB up three with 19 seconds left in the half, but the Cougars scored to cut the lead to one heading into the break.
 
Fokken and Emily Lueck combined to go on a nine-point run to start the second half for the Blazers and put CSB up 30-20 with less than three minutes gone from the half. A pair of free throws by Emily Lueck made it an 11-point game, and CSB held that lead until Morris made its run late in the game.
 
Emily Lueck finished with 18 points and eight rebounds to lead the Blazers, who shot 32 percent from the field. Miller added 13 points and Fokken had 11 rebounds and six points in the first game of her collegiate career. CSB went 10-for-18 from the line and had 50 rebounds to Morris' 53.
 
Holt paced Morris with 12 points and Emily Auch added 10 and 16 rebounds. Holt also had 15 rebounds. The Cougars shot 26.8 percent from the line.
 
The Blazers return to action Sunday, Nov. 16, when they host UW-River Falls in the second day of the Quinlivan and Hughes Tip-Off Tournament. The Falcons lost 72-62 to Saint Mary's Saturday in the first game of the tournament. The Cardinals play Morris at 1 p.m.