Saint John's ends its streak of four consecutive road games by hosting Macalester for a 7:30 p.m. contest Wednesday, Dec. 5, at Sexton Arena in Collegeville. – Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats
A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (1-4, 1-2 MIAC) erased an 18-point deficit but could not hold on to a late two-point lead in a 66-65 loss at Carleton Monday in Northfield. The Johnnies gained a 65-63 lead, their first of the game, with 2:35 remaining but Carleton scored the game's final three points. SJU left eight points (5-for-13) at the free-throw line, including a miss on the front end of a one-and-one ahead by a 65-64 margin with 24 seconds left. Freshman Mitchell Kuck (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) recorded a career-high 21 points with five rebounds, but was 3-for-9 at the free-throw line. Junior Seth Marx (Maple Grove, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret's) tallied his second career double-double with 11 rebounds and 10 points, all of which was scored in the second half. Senior Chris Orgas (Lakeville, Minn./North) added 10 points and six boards off the bench. Scott Theisen led Carleton with 20 points, while Tom Sawatzke added 12. Taylor Hanson tallied nine points and nine rebounds before leaving the game with an apparent ankle injury with 11 minutes left. Carleton made only three of its 16 shot attempts after he left the game (0-for-6 from three-point range). SJU out-shot (47.5 percent to 43.3 percent) and out-rebounded (45-36) the home team, but the Knights took advantage of the Johnnies' seven first-half turnovers for 10 points (and finished with a 12-4 scoring advantage in the game). The Johnnies out-scored Carleton 42-26 in the paint despite missing 11 shots down low.
A LOOK AT THE SCOTS: St. Olaf out-scored Macalester (3-3, 0-2 MIAC) 8-1 over the final 1:20 to escape with a 75-70 win over the Scots Dec. 1. The Scots knocked down six of their first eight three-pointers and struck quickly for leads of 14-4 and 20-8 before St. Olaf rallied with 15 straight points to go up 23-20 with just under seven minutes to go in the first half. The Scots' lead was never greater than five points throughout the entire second half. Mac led 69-67 on a pair of junior Justin Wasik free throws with 1:37 to play, but the Oles netted the game's next seven points. Senior Pierce Peters knocked down three from behind the arc and finished with 23 points, seven rebounds and two blocks to lead Macalester and move into sixth on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,230 points. Wasik came off the bench to spark his team with a season-high 15 points. Peters enters tonight's contest averaging 20.2 points per game, while senior Sam Marshall and freshman Dylan Kilgour average 11.7 points apiece. The Scots, however, average 17.2 turnovers per game.
THE LAST MEETING: Saint John's started a 9-0 run with 4:17 left to pull away and earn a 63-53 win at Macalester last Feb. 15 in St. Paul. The Scots built their largest lead of the game, 23-17, with 5:42 remaining in the first half before SJU rode an 11-4 run into halftime. The lead changed hands five times in the second half before the Johnnies took the lead for good with 6:53 left. Marx led SJU with 16 points, while Aaron Barmore '12 added 15 points and six rebounds. Peters led Mac with 17 points, including 15 in the second half.
SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 69-28 all-time against Macalester under the direction of head coach Jim Smith, including a 37-11 record in Collegeville. SJU has won 20 of the last 22 meetings in Sexton Arena.
