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MORRIS, Minn. – Saint John's shot 68.2 percent (15-for-22) in the second half and forced a total of 23 turnovers in a 73-58 win at Minnesota-Morris on Thursday, Dec. 15.

SJU (5-3, 1-2 MIAC) forced 13 turnovers in the first half but led by only five, 30-25, thanks to a handful of missed layups and a 3-for-11 showing from three-point range.

Morris cut a nine-point deficit to one with 9:24 remaining, but SJU went on a 12-1 run in a four-minute span to break the game open for good.

Senior Andy Burns (Shorewood, Minn./Minnetonka) led the Johnnies with a season-high 21 points. Sophomore Patrick Butcher (Louisville, Ky./St. Xavier) added a career-high 14 points off the bench, while junior Chris Neumann (Winsted, Minn./Holy Trinity) totaled 12 points on six of eight shooting.

Derek Schmidt was the only player to reach double figures for the Cougars (2-5, 0-0 UMAC) with 18 points. UMM shot 51.2 percent (21-for-41) from the floor, but just 15.4 percent (2-for-13) from beyond the arc and left 10 points at the free-throw line (14 of 24).

With the win, head coach Jim Smith improves to 732-513 (.588) in 48 seasons at SJU.

SJU scored a total of 27 points off UMM's 23 turnovers in the contest.

The Johnnies return to conference play against St. Thomas on Monday, Jan. 2. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Sexton Arena in Collegeville.