Saint John's returns to non-conference action with a 7 p.m. contest tonight at Martin Luther in New Ulm. - Listen Live (Real Audio) | Listen Live (Windows Media Player) | Live Stats

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (2-4, 2-2 MIAC) doubled Macalester's shooting percentage and scoring output in the first half en route to an 89-57 win Dec. 5 in Collegeville. The Johnnies shot 55.6 percent (20-for-36) to the Scots' 28.0 percent (7-for-25) to build a 46-23 halftime lead. Macalester made six of its first seven shots of the second half to cut its deficit to 15 (52-37) five minutes in but finished 5-for-19 (26.3 percent) the rest of the way. Freshman Mitchell Kuck (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) led the Johnnies with 21 points in 23 minutes, 18 of which came in the first half, to record his second consecutive 20-point game. Junior Jack Wittenborg (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) tied his career high with 13 points off the bench and senior Chris Neumann (Winsted, Minn./Holy Trinity) added 10. Freshman Trevor O'Brien (New Prague, Minn.) tallied a career-high nine points and junior Seth Marx (Maple Grove, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret's) collected seven points and seven rebounds. SJU shot 64.3 percent (18-for-28) in the second half to finish at 59.4 percent (38-for-64) for the game. The home team held impressive statistical advantages in rebounds (41-24), points in the paint (44-22), points off turnovers (17-7) and second-chance points (15-3). Fouls were whistled to a 21-9 tune against SJU.

A LOOK AT THE KNIGHTS: Martin Luther (0-6, 0-0 UMAC) dropped a high-scoring game, 93-80, at home to Bethel Dec. 8. The Knights shot 56.2 percent (18-for-32) in the second half to cut their deficit to five with 6:02 remaining. Junior Galen Holzhueter scored 17 of his game-high 29 points in the second half. He leads the team with an average of 17.2 points per game, while freshman Luke Rothe is close behind with a 14.5 average. Rothe collected 14 of his career-high 22 points, like Holzhueter, in the second half. MLC is shooting only 37.5 percent on the year and average 16.3 turnovers per contest.

LAST YEAR: Saint John's jumped out to a 25-0 lead to start the game en route to a 78-42 win over Martin Luther last Dec. 12 in Collegeville. The Johnnies scored 19 points off 11 MLC turnovers to post a 42-17 lead at the half. SJU shot 48.4 percent (15-for-31) to the Knights' 22.7 percent (5-for-22) in the first half, but just 27.8 percent (5-for-18) from three-point range. The home team ended the contest 20 of 34 (.588) from inside the arc. Neumann led the Johnnies with 15 points and nine rebounds, while Aaron Barmore '12 added 13 points. Junior Patrick Butcher (Louisville, Ky./St. Xavier) came off the bench to record 12 points. The three combined for a 15-for-20 night from the field (5-for-8 from beyond the arc). Justin Danell led MLC with 12 points. Galen Holzhueter, who entered the game averaging 21.3 points per game, was held to four points and nine rebounds. The Johnnies scored 31 points off 21 Knight turnovers in the game.