The Johnnies return to conference play with a 7:30 p.m. game tonight at Bethel in Arden Hills. – Listen Live (Real Audio Player)
A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (3-6, 2-2 MIAC) saw its 12-point, second-half lead dissolve in a 79-73 loss at Wisconsin-River Falls Dec. 29. Down 41-31, UWRF opened the second half with a 5-0 run, but SJU answered with a 7-0 run of its own to gain a 48-36 lead. The Falcons proceeded to go on a 33-8 run, including a 16-0 stretch, to gain a 69-56 lead with 4:54 remaining. The Johnnies made only one of their nine shot attempts during River Falls' 19-2 run, a 5:20 span after SJU posted a 54-50 lead with 9:57 left. Juniors Patrick Butcher (Louisville, Ky./St. Xavier) and Seth Marx (Maple Grove, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret's) led four Johnnies in double-figures with 13 points apiece. Marx, however, was held to two points on 1-for-7 shooting in the second half. Freshman Mitchell Kuck (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) followed with 12 points and a game-high eight rebounds, while senior Chris Neumann (Winsted, Minn./Holy Trinity) added 11 points. The Johnnies, who are now 1-10 all-time at River Falls (10-13 overall), missed 15 three-pointers in the game (4-for-19) and held a slim 13-11 scoring advantage in second-chance points despite having seven more offensive rebounds than UWRF (17-10). SJU put up 75 shots in the game, 18 more than the Falcons, but shot 42.7 percent from the floor.
SHOTS GALORE: The last time SJU attempted 75 shots or more was 95-92 triple-overtime loss to Bethel on Feb. 12, 2003, in Collegeville. The Johnnies were 34-for-77 (44.2 percent) from the field but just seven of 19 (36.8 percent) in the three overtimes.
SECOND-HALF SLUMP AT THE ARC: The Johnnies are shooting only 27.6 percent (21-for-76) from three-point range in the second half this season, including only one made three-pointer in each of their last three games (3-for-26 total).
McKENZIE AT THE POINT: Junior point guard Kevin McKenzie (De Pere, Wis./Notre Dame Academy) is averaging 10 points, 3.3 assists and only one turnover over his last three games. He also shot 56.3 percent (9-for-16) from the floor, which erased a .243 shooting percentage (9-for-37) up to that point. McKenzie needs three assists tonight to reach 100 for his career.
A LOOK AT THE ROYALS: Bethel (5-4, 1-3 MIAC) enters its game with SJU riding a three-game win streak, including a 93-68 win over Crown Dec. 15. Senior Taylor Hall led BU with 18 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, while junior Kyle Zimmerman, a transfer from SJU, recorded his third straight double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Hall leads the team in scoring (22.0 ppg.), rebounding (10.4 rpg.) and assists (3.4 apg.). The Royals have hit 90 points in three games this season, including 93 points in each of their last two contests.
LAST YEAR: Bethel and Saint John's split last season's series with the home team carrying the victory. SJU extended its winning streak to five games with a 66-52 victory last Jan. 4 in Collegeville. Senior Aaron Barmore '12 led the Johnnies with 19 points and five rebounds, while classmate Andy Burns added 12 points. The two captains combined for a 13 of 14 showing at the free-throw line as the Johnnies ended the game 23-for-26. Zimmerman and Kellan Dahlquist led the Royals with 11 points apiece. The Johnnies out-rebounded the visitors 34-23 and posted a 15-6 advantage in second-chance points thanks to 13 offensive boards. BU entered the game averaging nearly 38 (37.8) rebounds per game.
SJU missed its last seven shots from the field in a 67-63 loss at Bethel on Feb. 8 in Arden Hills. SJU led by four, 63-59, with 3:23 remaining before the well went dry. The Johnnies had the ball down by two (65-63) with 22 seconds left, but the Royals' Daniel Baah blocked Butcher's three-pointer and was fouled. Baah hit both free throws to ice the win for Bethel, which ended SJU's four-game win streak. Bethel made first six of its first seven shots to take an early 16-4 lead. BU led by as much as 13 until SJU went on a 16-0 run, sparked by three consecutive three-pointers from Marx. Both teams exchanged buckets to enter halftime with a 31-31 tie.
The second half was a back-and-forth affair before the Johnnies built their largest lead of the game, 59-54, on a traditional three-point play from Barmore with 6:11 left. Bethel's first foul of the second half came with 7:04 remaining. The Royals clawed back to within striking distance before SJU went cold. Burns led all scorers with 18 points, two shy of reaching 1,000 for his career. Barmore and Marx followed with 13 and 11 points, respectively. Baah led the Royals with 17 points, while Hall added 14. The Johnnies shot 47.8 percent (11-for-23) in the first half but just 13 of 33 (39.4 percent) in the game's final 20 minutes, including a 3-for-12 showing from behind the arc. BU, meanwhile, made four of its seven three-pointers in the second half to finish 50.0 percent (7-for-14) for the game.
SERIES HISTORY: SJU is 50-23 all-time against Bethel under the direction of head coach Jim Smith, but just 19-15 against the Royals in Arden Hills. The Johnnies saw their five-game winning streak end with the 67-63 loss at BU last season. SJU, however, has won five of the last seven meetings at Robertson Center.
