The Johnnies (7-3, 3-2 MIAC) travel to face Hamline (5-5, 3-2 MIAC) for a 3 p.m. game this Saturday, Jan. 7, at Hutton Arena in St. Paul. – Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Video
A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's extended its winning streak to five games with a 66-52 victory over Bethel Wednesday night in Collegeville. Senior Aaron Barmore (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) led the Johnnies with 19 points and five rebounds. Classmate Andy Burns (Shorewood, Minn./Minnetonka) added 12 points. The two captains combined for a 13 of 14 showing at the free-throw line as the Johnnies ended the game 23-for-26. SJU is 44 of 51 (.863) from the charity stripe over its last two games. The Johnnies out-rebounded the visitors 34-23 and posted a 15-6 advantage in second-chance points thanks to 13 offensive boards. BU entered the game averaging nearly 38 (37.8) rebounds per game. SJU has held its opponent to under 60 points in four of its last five games.
A LOOK AT THE PIPERS: Hamline returns home to host SJU following a 20-point win, 92-72, at Carleton Wednesday night. The Pipers shot 61.7 percent (37-for-60) from the field, including 56.5 percent (13-for-23) from beyond the arc. Senior guard Mike Campbell leads the team in both scoring (14.0 ppg.) and rebounding (5.6 rpg.), while freshman forward Dior Ford is second in both categories (11.8 ppg., 4.1 rpg.).
SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 73-24 against Hamline under the direction of head coach Jim Smith, including a 33-15 record in St. Paul. SJU has won each of the last three meetings overall and four of the last six in Hutton Arena. The winning team has scored 80 or more points in five of the last six meetings (4-2 SJU record).
LAST SEASON: Saint John's swept both games with Hamline, which finished third in the MIAC, last season. The Johnnies were 18 of 22 from the free-throw line in the second half, including 11-for-14 in the final two minutes, in the 80-72 victory Dec. 6 (2010) in St. Paul. Sam Blank '11 led five Johnnies in double figures with 20 points, thanks to a 10-for-12 performance from the charity stripe in the second half. Burns and Barmore followed with 17 and 14 points, respectively. SJU shot 54.2 percent in the second half and held a 35-34 advantage on the glass. The Johnnies' three-point shooting woes came to a halt, as the visitors were five of 12 (41.7 percent) from beyond the arc. SJU entered the game shooting just 17.1 percent (6-35) from three-point land its previous two games. Hamline made only one of its 16 three-point attempts (6.3 percent) in the game and shot 38.3 percent overall. The two teams combined for 51 fouls in the contest (SJU: 30, HU: 21).
Six Johnnies scored in double figures as SJU completed the series sweep with an 82-68 win last Jan. 26 in Collegeville. Blank led SJU once again with 19 points off the bench, including a 10-for-12 showing from the free-throw line. Aaron Burtzel '11 added 13 points and 15 rebounds for his 22nd career double-double and fourth consecutive against Hamline. Barmore and Burns added 12 points apiece. Noah Aguirre led Hamline with 17 points and seven rebounds, while Hipp collected 12 points and five rebounds in 23 minutes. SJU built a 17-point (42-25) halftime lead thanks to a 6-for-7 performance from three-point range. The Johnnies shot 57.1 percent (12-21) in the second half but were outscored 43-40 via Hamline's scoring advantage in second-chance points (7-3) and points off turnovers (13-6). The two teams combined for 34 turnovers in the game (SJU: 19; HU: 15). The Johnnies led by as much as 21 with 15 minutes left, but went 5:44 without a field goal as the Pipers cut it to 10 with 6:45 left. SJU, however, made its final two shots and went 11-for-16 from the free-throw line in the final three minutes.
