Saint John's hosts Concordia-Moorhead for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off Wednesday, Jan. 9, in Sexton Arena.  – Listen Live (Real Audio Player) | Live Stats

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Augsburg took full advantage of its extra possessions in a 77-65 win at Saint John's Monday night (Jan. 7).The Johnnies (3-8, 2-4 MIAC) jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the game's first minute, but Augsburg retaliated with seven straight points off its own en route to a 38-15 run and a 38-22 halftime lead. The Auggies shot 47.1 percent (16-for-34), including four of eight from beyond the arc, in the first half. The 16-point lead was crafted from points off turnovers (11-5) and second-chance points (12-2). SJU, meanwhile, shot 33.3 percent (9-for-27) in the opening half with 11 misses in the paint (19 total in the game). Junior Seth Marx (Maple Grove, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret's) led SJU with 11 points, while sophomore Jacob Peterson (Golden Valley, Minn./Hopkins) and freshman Mitchell Kuck (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) added nine points apiece. The Johnnies shot 57.1 percent (16-for-28) to out-score the visitors 43-39 in the second half. Augsburg, however, also shot 56.5 percent in the game's final 20 minutes and ended the contest with 21 points off the Johnnies' 13 turnovers and a 19-10 advantage in second-chance points.

FIRST-HALF FLUX: SJU has been outscored by a combined 42 points in the first half of its last two games, after outscoring the previous four opponents by 42 in the opening half. The Johnnies combined for a .309 shooting percentage (17-for-55) in their last two contests.

CAN'T BUY A THREE: The Johnnies have made only five three-pointers in the second half (13.5 percent, 5-for-37) of their last five games (26.4 percent in the second half this season). SJU's opponents, meanwhile, are shooting a total of 41.4 percent from beyond the arc on the year, including a 51.5-percent (35-for-68) clip in the last four games.

A LOOK AT THE COBBERS: Senior Andrew Martinson led Concordia (8-4, 5-2 MIAC) with five three-pointers and 19 points off the bench in the 93-72 win over Saint Mary's Jan. 7. Concordia shot 88.9 percent (8-for-9) from three-point range in the first half, including six consecutive shots from behind the arc in the final 7:39. The 93-point output marked the second straight game that the Cobbers have reached the 90-point plateau and the fourth straight over 80 points. CC eclipsed a .500 shooting percentage from the field (55.0 percent, 56.3 percent from three-point) for the fifth consecutive game and seventh time this season (7-0 record).

SENIOR-LED: The Cobbers' top six scorers are all seniors: Ebo Nana-Kweson (15.6 ppg.), Aaron Lindahl (10.6 ppg.), Dewon McKenzie (10.1 ppg.), Martinson (9.5 ppg.), Brandon Fisher (9.3 ppg.) and Jason Huus (8.3 ppg.). The six combine for a .506 shooting percentage (283-for-559) and a .416 percentage (64-for-154) from beyond the arc.

LAST YEAR: Last year, the two teams recorded what the series has produced each of the past five seasons: home-team wins. 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 last 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. Aaron Barmore '12 led SJU with 14 points, while Marx added 12 points, all on three-pointers (4-for-9). Martinson led Concordia with 27 points on 9-for-10 shooting (6-for-7 from beyond the arc) off the bench. He entered the game averaging 5.9 points per game with a .363 shooting percentage (.333 three-point). The Cobbers entered the contest with a .299 three-point shooting percentage as a team.

SJU earned a trip to the MIAC Playoffs with a 65-56 win on Senior Day over Concordia-Moorhead Feb. 18. The Johnnies ended the first half on a 9-2 run to take a 30-25 lead into halftime. The home team shot 50.0 percent (11-for-22) to the Cobbers' 31.0 percent (9-for-29) in the game's opening half, but Concordia turned eight offensive rebounds into nine second-chance points to keep the game close. The Johnnies led by as much as 14 with 15:42 remaining, but Concordia tied the game at 47-47 courtesy of a 20-6 Cobber run with 6:30 left. Back-to-back jumpers from Martinson and layup from Johnathon Molina gave the visitors their first lead, 53-52, since the 3:55 mark of the first half. The lead was short-lived, however, as SJU retaliated with a 13-4 run to end the game. Marx gave the lead back to the Johnnies for good with a three-pointer, his fourth of the game, with 3:29 left. SJU proceeded to end the game 8-for-8 from the free-throw line to seal the victory. The Cobbers missed six of their last seven shots to end the game. Andy Burns '12 led all scorers with 19 points, while Barmore added 18 points. The two combined for a 12-for-17 day from the floor, as well as an 11-for-13 performance at the free-throw line. Marx added 16 points and junior Kevin McKenzie (De Pere, Wis./Notre Dame Academy) chipped in four points and five assists. Huus led the Cobbers with 18 points and 11 rebounds, while Martinson added 15 points off the bench.

SERIES HISTORY: SJU is 69-30 all-time against Concordia-Moorhead under the direction of head coach Jim Smith, including a 44-5 record in Collegeville.