St. Paul, Minn. – After 28 years together on the bench for the College of Saint Benedict basketball team, tonight's (Jan. 29) 68-58 win over Hamline made head coach Mike Durbin and assistant coach Denny Johnson the first known coaching tandem in NCAA Division III history to win 600 games together at one institution.
| 600-Win Tandems | # |
| Geno Auriemma & Chris Dailey (Connencicut) | 839 |
| Pat Summitt & Holly Warlick (Tennessee) | 831 |
| Robin Selvig & Annette Rocheleau (Montana) | 807 |
| Tara VanDerveer & Amy Tucker (Stanford) | 730 |
| Sylvia Hatchell & Andrew Calder (North Carolina) | 652 |
| Pat Summitt & Mickie DeMoss (Tennessee) | 615 |
They become the sixth duo at all NCAA levels to win 600 games together, and got a much needed victory in the process. The Blazers were coming off a tough loss to MIAC leader Saint Mary's last weekend, but rebounded nicely to win for the fifth time in the last seven games and get back over the .500 mark in conference play.
The Blazers (10-6, 7-6 MIAC) saw a double-digit lead slip away before halftime, but came out gunning in the second and quickly turned a four-point lead at the break into a double-digit advantage just four minutes into the second.
The host Pipers (4-13, 3-11 MIAC) made their move to get back in the game with a 16-to-8 run midway through the second half, but it wasn't enough as the Blazers responded with five straight points.
Saint Ben's took a 13-11 lead at 13:42 the mark of the first half and would never trail again. They extended their lead to as much as 12 in the first half, before the Pipers closed on an 8-to-0 run to pull within four heading into the locker room.
For the second straight game, Mattie Lueck (Pequot Lakes, Minn.) finished as the leading scorer, putting in 19 on the strength of 7-of-13 shooting, which included a 3-of-3 mark from behind the arc. She was joined in double figures by Morgan Dale (Jamestown, N.D.) with 13, Tish Alexander (Minneapolis, Minn.) with 12 and Emily Lueck (Pequot Lakes, Minn.) with 11.
Dale also grabbed 19 rebounds – just two shy of her CSB record 21 from four weeks ago – to finish with her sixth double-double of the season. She also moves into the top-five all-time at CSB, passing Anna Heikenen '06 (573) and sitting with 585 in her career.
With the wisdom and experience of 600 wins behind them, Durbin and Johnson have the Blazers right in the thick of the playoff chase, despite starting just 2-4 in conference play. Currently in sixth place, the Blazers have a two-game lead over seventh, and are just 2.5 games behind fourth place and a home playoff game in the first round.
The Blazers return home on Feb. 1, playing that team in fourth, hosting Bethel at 3 p.m. in Claire Lynch Hall.
Fans don't forget, after the game on Feb. 1, head over to O'Connell's for a post-game social, celebrating Coach Durbin, and Coach Johnson's milestone.