Saint John's travels to face Saint Mary's for a 7:30 p.m. game tonight in Winona. – Listen Live (Real Audio Player) | Live Stats/Live Video
A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: No. 2 St. Thomas went on a 23-0 run in the first half en route to a 94-63 win over Saint John's (3-10, 2-7 MIAC) on Jan. 12 in St. Paul. A three-pointer from junior point guard Kevin McKenzie (De Pere, Wis./Notre Dame Academy) gave SJU a 12-10 lead with 14:16 left in the first half before UST put together a 27-2 run. McKenzie tied a career high with 13 points to lead the Johnnies, who were out-scored 29-10 off turnovers and out-rebounded 33-18 (13-6 on offensive glass) in the game. SJU out-shot the Tommies, 56.5 percent to 56.4 percent, but committed 22 turnovers and left 12 points at the free-throw line (6-for-18). Junior Seth Marx (Maple Grove, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret's), who suffered a sprained shoulder in the final minute of the loss to Concordia-Moorhead Jan. 9, was held scoreless. He entered the contest averaging 11.5 points and five rebounds in two career games against the Tommies.
56.5 PERCENT: The last time SJU shot over 56 percent from the field in a game, and lost, was a 67-62 decision at home to St. Thomas on Feb. 13, 2010. The Johnnies shot 58.5 percent (24-for-41) from the floor that afternoon, including five of nine from three-point range, but left 14 points at the free-throw line (9-for-23).
A LOOK AT THE CARDINALS: Saint Mary's (2-11, 1-7 MIAC) earned its first conference victory, which also snapped a four-game losing skid, with a 75-72 win at home over Bethel Jan. 12. Evan Pederson drained a three-pointer to give SMU its first lead of the game, 40-39, to open the second half and SMU built its lead to as many as 13 (61-48) on a Michael Burfeind three-pointer. Bethel made it a one-point game with 21 seconds remaining in regulation, but four straight Burfeind free throws sealed the win. Burfeind finished with a game-high 26 points, with a perfect 10-for-10 showing at the free-throw line, while Pederson added 15 points and Will Swiggum tallied 12 points and a team-leading eight rebounds. Burfeind is currently averaging 20.4 points per game, followed by Pederson (11.6 ppg.) and Mark Schumacher (11.0 ppg.). SMU averages 14.9 turnovers per game and its opponents are shooting 52.1 percent from the floor.
LAST YEAR: The Johnnies swept both games against the Cardinals last season. Four Johnnies scored in double figures as SJU extended its home winning streak to 42 games over Saint Mary's with a 69-58 win last Dec. 5 (2011) in Collegeville. The Johnnies answered SMU's lone lead of the game, 8-6 2:34 into the contest, with a 24-4 run to take a 30-12 lead with 5:56 left in the first half. The Cardinals were shooting 25.0 percent from the floor (6-for-24) until they closed the first half three of five. Aaron Barmore '12 tied his career high with 20 points on 10 of 14 shooting to lead SJU. Junior Jack Wittenborg, a fellow alumnus of Bloomington Jefferson High School, added a then-career-high 13 points on a perfect six-for-six night. Senior Chris Neumann (Winsted, Minn./Holy Trinity) added 12 points and six rebounds, while Andy Burns '12 collected 10 points and six assists. Burfeind led all scorers with 26 points and grabbed 12 boards for SMU. The Cardinals matched the Johnnies point-for-point and shot 45.8 percent (11-for-24) in the second half. The visitors, however, made only one of their 14 three-point attempts and committed 17 turnovers in the game. SMU was 17 of 20 from the free-throw line. SJU shot an even 56.0 percent (14-for-25) in the second half to finish 54.7 percent (29-for-53) for the game, despite shooting just two of seven from behind the arc.
Barmore and Burns combined for 35 points and nine assists as the Johnnies earned a 64-50 road win at Saint Mary's Jan. 25 in Winona. The Johnnies answered an early three-point deficit with a 14-0 run to post a 26-15 lead with 4:43 left in the first half. SMU responded with an 8-3 run to end the half with a six-deficit at the half, 29-23. SJU made four of its first six shots following intermission and forced 10 turnovers in the second half to put the game at ease. Burns was six of 11 from the field, including 2-for-3 from behind the arc, to lead all scorers with 19 points. He also added five assists with no turnovers and was a perfect 5-for-5 from the free-throw line. Barmore tallied 16 points on seven of 13 shooting, while Wittenborg recorded nine points off the bench, including seven in the first half. Burfeind led the Cardinals with 14 points on a 6-for-13 night from the floor. SJU outscored Saint Mary's 30-16 in the paint and 19-10 off turnovers.
SERIES HISTORY: SJU head coach Jim Smith is 74-20 all-time against the Cardinals, including wins in 41 of the last 49 meetings overall. The Johnnies are 28-19 in Winona during his tenure, with wins in each of their last five games at SMU Gym. The current win streak, however, snapped a 3-7 stretch in the previous 10 meetings at SMU.
