The Johnnies look to get back on track tonight against Macalester in Collegeville. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. at Sexton Arena. – Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats
A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (8-5, 4-4 MIAC) led by as much as 17 with 7:39 remaining in the game, but St. Olaf outscored the Johnnies 33-11 the rest of the way in a 82-77 overtime loss on Jan. 14 in Collegeville. Down 66-49 at the 7:39 mark of the second half, the Oles proceeded to go 8-for-10 from the floor, including five of six from three-point range, to send the game into overtime. The Johnnies, meanwhile, ended the game two of three from the floor but committed four turnovers and missed a pair of free throws late. The Oles tallied an 11-2 scoring advantage off turnovers and went 7-for-11 from beyond the arc in the second half alone. STO carried its momentum into overtime and posted a 9-4 scoring advantage over SJU, which was 0-for-8 from the floor in OT. The Johnnies scored seven points in the final 12:39 of the game, including the five-minute overtime. Sophomore Seth Marx (Maple Grove, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret's) led the Johnnies with career-highs in points (22) and three pointers (6). Senior Aaron Barmore (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) followed with 21 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Junior Chris Neumann (Winsted, Minn./Holy Trinity) recorded 12 points, while senior Andy Burns (Shorewood, Minn./Minnetonka) added eight points, five rebounds and five assists. STO's Stu Neville led all scorers with 36 points and collected 11 rebounds. The senior averaged 20.8 points and 8.3 rebounds with a .620 shooting percentage in four career games in Sexton Arena, including a total of 64 points, 18 rebounds and a .706 shooting percentage (24-for-34) in his last two visits.
A LOOK AT THE SCOTS: Macalester (1-12, 1-7 MIAC) begins a stretch of three straight road games when it travels to Collegeville tonight. The Scots have lost three straight since knocking off Carleton 61-59 at home Jan. 2. Mac's Pierce Peters scored 19 of his career-high 31 points in the first half, going a perfect 7-for-7 from the field ( 5-for-5 from beyond the arc) as the Scots posted a .760 shooting percentage (19-for-25) and a 47-36 lead at the half against Gustavus Jan. 14. The Scots were 8-for-10 on first-half three-pointers. The Gusties, however, went 19-for-27 in the second half while holding Macalester to six baskets (27.3 percent, 6-for-22), and took their first lead at 55-54 at the 13-minute mark. The Scots re-gained the lead on their next possession, but the Gusties began a key 18-2 run to go up 73-58 with 7:29 to go. Peters, a junior, leads the team in both scoring (19.8 ppg.) and rebounding (8.4 rpg.) with a .452 shooting percentage (45.6 percent from three-point range). He is also an 88.6-percent shooter from the free-throw line (62-for-70). Classmate Sam Marshall follows with 10 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, good for second on the squad in both categories.
SERIES HISTORY: SJU is 67-28 all-time against Macalester under the direction of head coach Jim Smith, including a 36-11 record in Collegeville. The Johnnies have won 19 of the last 21 meetings in Sexton Arena.
LAST YEAR: Macalester snapped its 52-game MIAC losing streak and its 26-game losing streak overall with a 90-81 win at SJU last Jan. 5 (2011). 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. Aaron Burtzel '11 led SJU with 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 (from three feet or less) in the game. 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. SJU entered the game with the MIAC's (conference games only) second-best three-point defense at 26.3 percent (20-76). The two teams combined for 52 fouls and 78 rebounds in the game.
SJU made six of eight free throws in the final minute of regulation to defeat Macalester 81-79 last Feb. 9 in St. Paul. The Johnnies ended the game 19 of 25 from the charity stripe and shot 55.6 percent (15-27) in the second half. SJU's 11-point halftime lead lost its luster, however, as Macalester made nine three-pointers (60.0 percent) in the second half, including three in the final 25 seconds. SJU led by as much as 15 late in the second half, and by 13 with 5:32 left. The Scots went on a 15-2 run to cut the deficit to as close as two with 1:35 remaining. SJU shot 53.6 percent to the Scots' 38.5 percent. Mac picked up the slack by tallying 19 points off the Johnnies' nine turnovers and collected 19 points off 19 offensive rebounds.
