The Johnnie basketball team returns to action with a 5 p.m. game Saturday, Dec. 29, at Wisconsin-River Falls. – Listen Live (Real Audio Player) | Live Stats

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (3-5, 2-2 MIAC) received 35 points from its bench and finished 11-for-12 from the free-throw line in a 72-67 non-conference win over Minnesota-Morris on Dec. 13 in Collegeville. SJU erased an early 10-2 deficit with a 20-2 run en route to a 38-30 halftime lead. Morris started the second half with an 11-2 run to take a one-point lead (41-40), which was the first of seven lead changes in half. Junior Kevin McKenzie (De Pere, Wis./Notre Dame Academy) tied the game at 62-62 with a big three-pointer at the 4:22 mark and hit a pair of free throws  to give the home team a two-point lead. A jumper from R.J. Dean tied it before the Johnnies were able to take the lead for good with a basket from juniors Seth Marx (Maple Grove, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret's) and Jack Wittenborg (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) each. Marx led all scorers with 16 points and missed a double-double by one rebound. Wittenborg added a career-high 14 points and McKenzie followed with 11. Senior Chris Neumann (Winsted, Minn./Holy Trinity) collected 10 points and six boards, while junior Patrick Butcher (Louisville, Ky./St. Xavier) posted eight points and eight assists.

A LOOK AT THE FALCONS: Wisconsin-River Falls (4-7, 0-3 WIAC) ended a five-game losing skid with a 57-54 win at home over Pacific Lutheran (Wash.) Dec. 22. Sophomore Arik Smith hit an off-balanced, long-range three-pointer with a defender in his face as time expired. The Lutes took the lead a minute into the game and did not trail again until the clock struck zero.  The lead stretched as high as 20 points, but senior Zach Peterson kept the Falcons close recording his second double-double in the last four games. Peterson scored a career-high 26 points, behind 9-of-10 shooting and 10 rebounds, including five opn the offensive glass. PLU opened with a 24-7 run behind 5-of-10 three-pointers in the first 14 minutes, while the Falcons hit just two of their first 13 shots. A second-half Falcon run of 18-5 closed the gap to five points with 10 minutes remaining. During this span, the Falcons made 9-of-13 from the field, while holding the Lutes to just 2-of-6 along with forcing a pair of turnovers. Smith took over the game for UWRF in the final 90 seconds. Following a missed Lute free throw, Smith made his first basket to cut the lead to three points. The press defense forced a turnover, handing the ball back to the Falcons with just over a minute to play. A traditional three-point play from Peterson knotted the game at 54-54. During the next PLU possession, Smith slammed a loose ball off a Lute defender returning the ball to the Falcons with 24 seconds left. Smith leads the team with an average of 13.6 points per game, senior Ollie Smith is close behind with 11.7 points per game and a team-leading 6.8 rebounds per contest. The Falcons average 14.9 turnovers per game and are shooting 32.8 percent (62-for-189) from three-point range.

SERIES HISTORY: SJU is 10-12 all-time against Wisconsin-River Falls, including a dismal 1-9 record on the Falcons' home court. The Johnnies are 38-36 against members of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC): Eau Claire (4-3), La Crosse (4-3), Oshkosh (1-2), Platteville (0-3), River Falls (10-12), Stevens Point (2-4), Stout (9-3), Superior (7-6) and Whitewater (1-0).