DULUTH, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris men's basketball team had a tough day from the field on Saturday, dropping an 81-61 decision to the College of St. Scholastica in each team's season opener. 

The opening 10 minutes favored the Cougars and when Dillon Haider hit his second triple of the first half, UMN Morris held a 15-8 lead on the Saints. That would be the high point of the afternoon however. A 13-2 run from St. Scholastica followed to give the lead back to the Saints and an 8-0 run for St. Scholastica over the final 1:22 of the half left the Cougars facing a 40-28 deficit at halftime.

The closest that Minnesota Morris would get in the second half came four minutes in when a Will McBee layup made it 46-35. St. Scholastica soon extended the lead out to 20 points and led by as many as 27 in the final minutes.

The Cougars and Saints were fairly even in a number of statistical categories on the day, but it was cold shooting from UMN Morris that made the difference. The Cougars ended the afternoon at 23-of-69 (33.3%) and were 4-of-20 (20%) from behind the arc. Corbyn Alexander was the leading scorer for the Cougars with 17 points. Ian Carlin approached a double-double with eight points and 11 rebounds. McBee and Kenneth Riley each chipped in seven points apiece.

Minnesota Morris will make its home debut at Jim Gremmels Court on Feb. 4, facing Martin Luther College at 7 p.m.