Saint John's wraps up its non-conference schedule at Martin Luther this Wednesday, Dec. 1. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. in New Ulm. – Listen Live | Watch Live
Preview Video:
-Head coach Jim Smith (3:17)
A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's enters Wednesday's contest looking to improve to 4-1 in non-conference action. The last time SJU won four regular-season non-conference games was during the 1999-00 season. The Johnnies went 2-0 on a road trip to the Chicago area last weekend. SJU defeated Aurora (Ill.), an NCAA Tournament entrant last season, 81-75 in overtime last Saturday, and then edged the University of Chicago 90-87 on Sunday. Following Wednesday's contest, the Johnnies will have traveled 1,802 miles on a bus, round-trip, for their four non-conference road games. Senior Sam Blank (Rollingstone, Minn./Winona Cotter) scored a career-high 25 points in the Johnnies' win at Aurora. He was nine of 18 from the field, including 5-for-11 from three-point range. Senior Aaron Burtzel (Cold Spring, Minn./Rocori) added 15 points, five assists and five rebounds, while junior Aaron Barmore (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) totaled 10 points. Senior Chris Schwartz (Sioux Falls, S.D./Lincoln) posted eight points and a career-high 10 assists.
Junior point guard Andy Burns (Shorewood, Minn./Minnetonka) scored a career-high 35 points, including eight three pointers, in the 90-87 road win at Chicago. Burns was 11 of 18 from the field, including 8-for-11 from behind the arc, and a perfect 5-for-5 from the free-throw line. He also added eight assists, four rebounds, two steals and did not commit a turnover. Schwartz posted 17 points, 12 of which came in the second half, and made five three pointers of his own. Burtzel followed with 16 points on 8-for-9 shooting and seven assists, and Barmore added 10 points. SJU shot 61.1 percent from the floor, an even 63 percent in the second half alone, and 56.5 percent from behind the arc (13-23). Chicago (1-4, 0-0 UAA) led by as much as 11 points in the first half before Burtzel made back-to-back layups and Burns hit three pointers on three consecutive possessions to tie the game at 16-16. The Johnnies took the first lead of the game, a short-lived one, 39-38 with 43 seconds left of the first half before Chicago hit a jumper with six seconds left. The Maroons shot 45.5 percent from the floor in the first half, but were 8-for-13 (61.5 percent) from three-point range. Barmore gave SJU a 71-69 lead with a pair of free throws at the 5:58 mark of the second half. The visitors built their lead to five points before Chicago tied the game for the ninth and final time at 81-81 with 1:14 remaining. Burns then hit a three and four straight free throws to make it 88-84 in favor of SJU with 16 seconds left. The Maroons cut their deficit to one point with a three, but senior Sam Blank made both of his free throws to end the scoring for either team with eight seconds left.
BURNS ON FIRE: Burns' eight three pointers tied him for third-most in a single game, in school history. He averaged 21.5 points, 5.5 assists and shot 54.5 percent from the field in the weekend's two games. Burns was also 9 of 15 from three-point range, 10-for-12 from the charity stripe and did not commit a turnover on the weekend. A career 42.6 percent (86-202) three-point shooter, Burns led the MIAC (conference games only) in three-point shooting (.500, 34-68) last season.
A LOOK AT THE KNIGHTS: Martin Luther (0-3, 0-0 UMAC) is coming off an 82-38 loss at St. Olaf Nov. 22. Sophomore guard Nathan Bauer leads the team with 31.7 minutes and 12.3 points per game. Senior guard Greg Holzhueter returns for the Knights after earning first-team All-UMAC honors each of the past two seasons. He was the leading scorer in the UMAC last season, averaging just under 16 points per contest. He also led the team in assists (3.0 apg.), steals (1.8 spg.) and minutes played (31.4 mpg.). This season, however, he is averaging only 3.5 points and 12 minutes per game. The Knights return four of five starters from the 2009-10 squad that finished with a mark of 7-17 (4-10 UMAC). The Knights are averaging just 53.3 points per game while shooting 33.9 percent from the field. Their opponents are averaging 77.7 points per game while shooting at a 47.7 percent clip through the first three games. This is the first meeting between the Johnnies and Knights.
