Saint John's travels to face Saint Mary's for a 7:30 p.m. game this Wednesday, Jan. 25, at SMU Gym in Winona. – Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats/Live Video
A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: The Johnnies lost their second straight game as Concordia shot 68.8 percent (11-for-16) from three-point range in the first half en route to an 89-64 win over Saint John's Jan. 21 in Moorhead. The Cobbers made eight of their first 12 shots, including five of their first six three pointers, to take an early 21-6 lead less than seven minutes into the game. The Johnnies, meanwhile, missed nine of their first 11 shots (1-for-6 from three-point range). Concordia led by as much as 22 in the first half and 29 with less than five minutes left to play. Senior Aaron Barmore (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) led SJU with 14 points, while sophomore Seth Marx (Maple Grove, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret's) added 12 points, all from three-point range (4-for-9). SJU has now lost each of the last five games at Memorial Auditorium. Saint John's currently leads the MIAC (all games) in free-throw percentage (.759) and assist/turnover ratio (1.39), and is second in scoring defense (63.5 ppg.) and turnover margin (+3.62 tpg.). Marx is second in the conference with an average of 2.3 three-pointers per game.
A LOOK AT THE CARDINALS: Saint Mary's (3-13, 3-8 MIAC) gave St. Thomas all it could handle in the first half last Saturday, but UST outscored the SMU 38-24 over the game's final 20 minutes to the Cardinals a 77-59 loss. The combination of junior Michael Burfeind and senior Pat Freeman scored 22 of the team's first 26 points to give the Cardinals an 11-point (26-15) advantage 12 minutes into the opening half. The Cardinals got within three in the second half but the Tommies pulled away, outscoring the Cardinals 20-6 over the next 10 minutes. Burfeind finished with a game-high 25 points, while Freeman added 14 (3-for-4 from three-point range). SMU shot 50 percent from the field in the first half (11-for-22), but shot only 8 of 22 from the field after intermission. Burfeind is the second-leading scorer in the MIAC, averaging 20.1 points per game, and shoots 85 percent from the free-throw line.
THE LAST MEETING: Four Johnnies scored in double figures in the 69-58 win over Saint Mary's earlier this season on Dec 5. The Johnnies answered SMU's lone lead of the game, 8-6 2:34 into the contest, with a 24-4 run to take a 30-12 lead with 5:56 left in the first half. The Cardinals were shooting 25.0 percent from the floor (6-for-24) until they closed the first half three of five. Barmore tied his career high with 20 points on 10 of 14 shooting to lead SJU. Sophomore Jack Wittenborg, a fellow alumnus of Bloomington Jefferson High School, added a career-high 13 points on a perfect six-for-six night. Junior Chris Neumann (Winsted, Minn./Holy Trinity) added 12 points and six rebounds, while senior Andy Burns (Shorewood, Minn./Minnetonka) collected 10 points and six assists. Burfeind led all scorers with 26 points and grabbed 12 boards for SMU. The Cardinals matched the Johnnies point-for-point and shot 45.8 percent (11-for-24) in the second half. The visitors, however, made only one of their 14 three-point attempts and committed 17 turnovers in the game. SMU was 17 of 20 from the free-throw line. SJU shot an even 56.0 percent (14-for-25) in the second half to finish 54.7 percent (29-for-53) for the game, despite shooting just two of seven from behind the arc.
SERIES HISTORY: SJU head coach Jim Smith is 73-20 all-time against the Cardinals, including wins in 40 of the last 48 meetings overall. The Johnnies are 27-19 in Winona during his tenure, with wins each of the last four games at SMU Gym. The current win streak, however, snapped a 3-7 stretch in the previous 10 meetings at SMU.
