The Johnnies (10-10, 6-9 MIAC) travel to face Macalester for a 7:30 p.m. game tonight at the Leonard Center in St. Paul. – Listen Live | Live Stats/Live Video
A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Senior Sam Blank (Rollingstone, Minn./Winona Cotter) made each of his first nine shots, including 7-for-7 from three-point range, to lead the Johnnies to an 85-59 win over Augsburg Feb. 5. Blank ended the game 9-for-10 from the field, including seven of eight from behind the arc, and a perfect 2-for-2 from the free-throw line for a career-high total of 27 points. SJU shot 60.0 percent (18-30) from the floor, including six of seven from three-point land, to the Auggies' 29.6 percent (8-27) in the first half to build a 47-24 halftime lead. Augsburg (12-9, 7-9 MIAC) shot 28.8 percent for the game. The Johnnies led by as much as 33 with 12:29 remaining. Senior Nermin Hujdurovic (Tuzla, Bosnia/Medical) followed Blank with 17 points, six rebounds and three blocks, while junior Andy Burns (Shorewood, Minn./Minnetonka) added 11 on 4-for-5 shooting (3-3 three-point). Senior Aaron Burtzel (Cold Spring, Minn./Rocori) collected nine points and seven rebounds to pass Ryan Lieser (2003-07) for 26th on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,062 points. He needs four to pass Kevin Coleman (1968-72) for 25th and 11 to pass Larry Bassett (1988-92) for 24th. Bassett owns SJU's record for the most three-pointers in a game with 11 (at Macalester; Feb. 12, 1992).
BLANK HAS STRONG WEEK: Blank averaged 14.3 points (17.7 minutes/game) with a .636 shooting percentage, including 11-for-13 (.846) from three-point range, in the Johnnies' three games last week. In addition to his near-perfect game against Augsburg, Blank came off the bench to make two three's and score a total of eight points against Bethel and Carleton earlier in the week. Blank is currently third in the MIAC (conference games only) in both three-pointers made per game (1.87) and free-throw percentage (.872, 34-39).
A LOOK AT THE SCOTS: Macalester (2-18, 2-13 MIAC) enters tonight's game riding a two-game losing streak, including a 93-64 loss to St. Olaf Saturday. Sophomore Pierce Peters leads the Scots in scoring (15.8 ppg.), rebounding (6.0 rpg.), blocks (27) and steals (25). Senior Kyle Hamblett and freshman Justin Wasik follow with 11.2 and 10.0 points per game, respectively. Opponents have shot over 50.0 percent against MAC in five of the last seven games (.533 shooting percentage in the seven games combined).
THE LAST MEETING: Macalester snapped its 52-game MIAC losing streak and its 26-game losing streak overall with a 90-81 win over SJU on Jan. 5 in Collegeville. The Scots shot 56.7 percent in the first half, including an 8-for-12 performance from three-point range (66.7 percent), to lead by as much as 20 and post a 44-26 lead at the intermission. The Johnnies, meanwhile, shot just 29.6 percent from the field in the game's first 20 minutes. Macalester led by 21 with just over eight minutes left, but SJU chipped the deficit down to as little as eight with 47 seconds left. The Johnnies outscored Mac 55-46 in the second half. Burtzel SJU with a career-high 28 points, 23 of which came in the second half, and added 13 rebounds, four assists and four steals. He was seven of 12 from the floor and 14-for-17 from the free-throw line. The rest of the Johnnies combined to shoot 18 of 56 (32.1 percent) from the field as SJU missed a total of 13 layups (in the paint) in the game. Burns added 20 points and four steals. Pierce Peters led five Scots in double figures with 22 points. Macalester outscored SJU 38-14 off the bench, including three in double digits. The Scots made their first six three pointers and ended 11 of 19 (57.9 percent) from beyond the arc. The two teams combined for 52 fouls and 78 rebounds in the game.
