Box Score | Listen to Archived Game
Post-Game Interviews:
-Burns, Neumann & Smith (1:49)
COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Senior point guard Andy Burns (Shorewood, Minn./Minnetonka) drained a jumper at the buzzer to give Saint John's a crucial 69-67 win over Hamline on Saturday, Feb. 4, in Collegeville.
The win gives SJU (13-7, 9-6 MIAC) the tie-breaker over the Pipers (10-11, 8-8 MIAC) and places the Johnnies in fifth place, 0.5 game behind Augsburg, in the conference standings.
SJU led by as much as six with 3:33 to play, but Hamline put together a 9-3 run in the final 3:31. A jumper in the paint from Al Tillman tied the game at 67-67 with 10 seconds left. Tillman rejected a layup from sophomore Kevin McKenzie (De Pere, Wis./Notre Dame Academy) out of bounds with two seconds remaining. Burns receive the in-bounds pass from McKenzie, ball-faked his defender and connected from 15 feet for the win.
Junior Chris Neumann (Winsted, Minn./Holy Trinity) led the Johnnies with a career-high 17 points, on 7-for-9 shooting, and nine rebounds. He also made a career-high three treys (3-for-3) to lead SJU, which finished 8-for-16 from behind the arc in the game. Burns added 15 points, while co-captain Aaron Barmore (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) added 10 points on a perfect 5-for-5 afternoon and five boards.
Tyler Pannell led the Pipers with 17 points.
The Johnnies committed a season-high 24 turnovers, including five in the first 4:30 of the game and 15 in the first half alone. SJU entered Saturday's contest leading NCAA Division III (405 schools) with an average of 10.1 turnovers per game. The Pipers feasted on the miscues with 28 points. Six of the 24 SJU turnovers were charging calls.
With the win, head coach Jim Smith improves to 740-517 (.589) in 48 seasons at SJU. He now needs one victory to tie John Chaney for 20th in college basketball history. The Johnnies are now 75-24 all-time against Hamline under the direction of Smith, including a 41-9 record in Collegeville.
SJU travels to face Bethel (11-9, 7-8 MIAC) in another critical conference tilt this Wednesday, Feb. 8. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at the Robertson Center in Arden Hills.
