Saint John's (2-2, 0-1 MIAC) travels to face Carleton (3-1, 1-0 MIAC) this Saturday, Dec. 3. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. at West Gymnasium in Northfield. – Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats/Watch Live
A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's shot just 35.1 percent from the floor in Wednesday's 60-45 conference loss at Augsburg. The two teams were tied at six with just over 13 minutes left in the first half when Augsburg went on a 19-5 run. SJU responded with an 11-5 run, but the Auggies added two straight buckets to end the half with a 34-22 lead. The Johnnies cut the deficit to two at the start of the second half but then went exactly five minutes until their next basket. The Auggies stretched their lead to as much as 25. Senior Aaron Barmore (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) led the Johnnies with 12 points, while senior Andy Burns (Shorewood, Minn./Minnetonka) and sophomore Patrick Butcher (Louisville, Ky./St. Xavier) added six points apiece. Sophomore Seth Marx (Maple Grove, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret's) added five points and seven rebounds.
BUZZER-BEATERS: Saint John's has allowed a buzzer-beating shot to end the first half in each of its last three games. St. Scholastica's Jonah Dahlman drilled a three-pointer to give the Saints a 38-33 lead Nov. 19 and Wisconsin-Stevens Point's Dan Tillema made a three of his own to give the Pointers a 14-point lead (38-24) Nov. 22. Augsburg's Parker Hines gave his team a 34-22 lead with a jumper at the buzzer Wednesday night.
A LOOK AT THE KNIGHTS: Senior Caleb Rosenow led Carleton to a 93-48 win over Saint Mary's University. The Knights led the game 37-2 just nine minutes into the game and had already been on 30-0 scoring run. Six Knights finished the game in double figures, including Rosenow who ended the game with 20 points and eight rebounds. Carleton shot 68.8 percent in the first half and held a 58-13 half-time lead. Freshman Shane McSparron and Paxton Harvieux tallied double figures off the bench, scoring 14 and 12 points, respectively. The Knights went 4-8 from three-point range and shot 77.1 percent from the free-throw line.
LAST SEASON'S SERIES: Carleton scored 19 points off 15 Saint John's turnovers to defeat the visiting Johnnies 71-63 on Jan. 3. SJU started hot, making four of its first seven shots to build a 10-point lead in the game's first 8:29, but ended the half six of 13 from the field and committed five turnovers. The Johnnies took a one-point lead, 42-41, with 11:02 left in the second half and cut it to two with eight minutes remaining, but that was as close as SJU would get. Burns led four Johnnies in double figures with 16 points thanks to 4-for-5 shooting from three-point range. In the second meeting, SJU led by as much as 15 in the second half but shot 23.1 percent in the game's final 20 minutes in a 59-54 loss Feb. 2 in Collegeville. The Johnnies missed their first six shots of the game but stayed in the contest thanks to a collective 5-for-9 performance from three-point range. Each team had seven turnovers each, but Carleton held a 12-6 scoring advantage off of turnovers.
SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 35-27 all-time against Carleton under the direction of head coach Jim Smith, but are just 14-17 against the Knights in Northfield. SJU has lost each of its last two games, and six of its last nine, in Northfield.
