The Johnnies end the regular season with Senior Day against Concordia-Moorhead this Saturday, Feb. 18. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. at Sexton Arena in Collegeville. SJU welcomes all basketball alumni and their families back to campus, and will honor Bill Sexton at halftime. – Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats | Live Video
Preview Video:
-Head coach Jim Smith (2:30)
A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (14-10, 10-9 MIAC) started a 9-0 run with 4:17 left to pull away and earn a 63-53 win at Macalester Wednesday night 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. Sophomore Seth Marx (Maple Grove, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret's) led SJU with 16 points, while senior Aaron Barmore (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) added 15 points and six rebounds.
A LOOK AT THE COBBERS: Concordia (7-17, 5-14 MIAC) fell behind 20-3 in the first 7:30 of the game in a 61-43 loss to league-leading Gustavus Adolphus, the Cobbers' seventh straight defeat, Wednesday night in Moorhead. Concordia watched as the Gusties knocked down their first 11 shots of the game and connect on 92.3 percent of their shots in the first 10 minutes of the game. Concordia outscored Gustavus 26-22 in the second half but could never get within 14 points as the 22-point first-half deficit (39-17) was too much to overcome. Ebo Nana-Kweson and Dewon McKenzie lead four Cobbers in double figures with averages of 11.5 and 11.4 points per game, respectively.
EARLIER THIS SEASON: 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 on 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). Concordia led by as much as 22 in the first half and 29 with less than five minutes left to play. Barmore led SJU with 14 points, while Marx added 12 points, all on three-pointers (4-for-9). Andrew Martinson led Concordia with 27 points on 9-for-10 shooting (6-for-7 from beyond the arc) off the bench.
SERIES HISTORY: SJU is 68-30 against the Cobbers under the direction of head coach Jim Smith, including a 43-5 record in Collegeville. Saint John's has won 16 of the last 18 meetings with the Cobbers in Sexton Arena.
POSTSEASON IMPLICATIONS: Saint John's can claim one of the two remaining spots in next week's MIAC Playoffs with either a win against Concordia or a Hamline loss at Macalester Saturday. In the case of a three-way tie, SJU and Bethel would advance to the MIAC Playoffs due to the Johnnies' sweep of Hamline.
SENIOR DAY: SJU is set to honor a pair of senior co-captains, Barmore and Andy Burns (Shorewood, Minn./Minnetonka) this Saturday. The two have combined for 1,949 points, 602 rebounds, 536 assists and 186 steals in 201 games played (189 starts; Burns: 97, Barmore: 92). Burns recently joined the 1,000-point club and boasts 1,019 career points. He is currently third in school history with 366 career assists and needs two to pass assistant coach Matt Ohme (2003-07) for second. Burns is also fourth with 152 career three-pointers and eighth with 121 career steals. He needs two steals to pass another assistant coach, Pat McKenzie (2000-04), for seventh. Barmore, on the other hand, totes 930 career points and a .538 career shooting percentage.
