The Seward County Saints, ranked No. 9 in the NJCAA preseason poll, opened the season with two big wins when they hosted the Pepsi Classic in the Green House Nov. 2-3. After the Billy’s/Days Inn Classic Nov. 16-17, the Saints record improved to 5-1. On Friday night, the Saints basketball team faced Midland who was ranked 17th. The Saints pushed a strong lead early on in the match, leading 39-28 at half-time. The Saints defeated Midland 73-61. Saturday evening, the Saints basketball team played the Southern Colorado Kings a semi-pro team. The Saints and Kings were closely matched, but too many turnovers cost the Saints points. The Kings lead 48-42 at half time. Saint Edson Avila twisted his ankle in the match and had to be benched for a while. With less than 10 minutes left in the game, the Saints managed to catch up and tie the match. A back and forth between the Saints and the Kings in the last 10 minutes ended when the Saints pushed a three point lead. The Saints defeated the Kings 88-82 and are now 5-1 in the season. The team will travel to Odessa, Texas, this week to play against New Mexico and Odessa. Earlier in the season, the Saints played in Garden City, for Garden City’s Pepsi Classic Nov. 9-10. The Saints had a close match with North Platte. Seward took the win 61-59 Nov. 9. The Knights had the lead over Seward for most of the first half. Minutes before halftime Seward managed to tie up at 22 with good defense against North Platte. The Knights took the lead at halftime 28-24. In the second half, North Platte received a technical foul, giving Seward the opportunity to catch up when they were behind five points. Jabari Peters gave the Saints their first lead with a three-point shot making it a 60-59 game. Malcom Hill-Bey had a steal when North Platte had the final possession letting the Saints take the win 61-59. Peters took the lead with 21 points and behind him Hill-Bey with 12. Nov. 10 the Saints were not able to defeat Kingdom Prep and suffered their first loss, 90-88. Kingdom Prep shot 50 percent from the field while Seward shot only 40 percent from inside the arc. Finishing the first half, Kingdom Prep had the lead 43-41. Being at the free throw line 27 times helped Kingdom Prep defeat Seward 90-88.