The Johnnies continue non-conference play at Minnesota-Morris this Thursday, Nov. 21. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at Jim Gremmels Court in Morris. – Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Video
Preview Video:
-Head coach Jim Smith (2:10)
A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (1-1 overall) split its season-opening weekend in St. Cloud. The Johnnies suffered a hard-fought 80-74 defeat to Division II St. Cloud State Nov. 16 before bouncing back with a 93-83 win over St. Scholastica Nov. 17. SJU cut Saturday's deficit to three, 67-64, with 2:45 remaining, but SCSU made its final two shot attempts and went 9-for-12 from the free-throw line to clinch the victory. The Johnnies out-rebounded the Huskies 41-25, but SCSU shot 52.1 percent from the field (25-for-48), including a 56.5-percent mark (13-for-23) in the second half, and converted 13 SJU turnovers into 15 points.
SJU ended Sunday's first half with a 26-5 run in the final 10:24 to build a 51-29 halftime lead. St. Scholastica cut its deficit to within eight points, 80-72, with six minutes remaining but the Johnnies made five of their last seven shots from the floor to seal the 10-point victory. The Johnnies converted 18 CSS turnovers into 30 points.
18th: With Sunday's victory, SJU head coach Jim Smith broke his tie with Hank Iba, the long-time Oklahoma State head coach (1935-70), for 18th in college basketball history with career win No. 756 (756-536 record in 50 seasons). He is now three victories behind Ed Diddle (Western Kentucky, 1923-64) for 17th with 759 career wins.
BIG BENCH: SJU has out-scored its opposition by an 81-33 margin off the bench through the season's first two games. The Johnnies' bench out-scored the Huskies' bench 42-10, and the Saints' bench, 39-23.
FIRST IMPRESSION: Junior Blake Maslonkowski (St. Joseph, Minn./St. Cloud Apollo), a transfer from Division II Mary (N.D.), has made a good impression through the season's first two games for the Johnnie basketball team. He currently leads the team in both shooting percentage (.857, 12-for-14) and rebounding (7.0 rpg.), and is third in scoring (13.5 ppg.).
HOT INSIDE, UNCHARACTERISTICALLY COLD OUTSIDE: Sophomore Alex Schmitt (Chaska, Minn./Waconia) scored a career-high 22 points in the Johnnies' win over St. Scholastica. He is averaging 17.5 points per game off the bench and is shooting 50.0 percent (13-for-26) from the field. Last year's team leader in three-point shooting percentage (.465, 20-for-43), Schmitt is shooting 83.3 percent (10-for-12) from inside the three-point arc and only 21.4 percent (3-for-14) from behind it.
NEW CAREER HIGHS: Senior Patrick Butcher (Louisville, Ky./St. Xavier) recorded three career highs, off the bench, in the loss to SCSU: points (17), rebounds (6) and three-pointers (5).
A LOOK AT THE COUGARS: Minnesota-Morris opened its season with a 63-39 loss to Concordia-Moorhead Nov. 15 before earning an 84-63 win over Trinity Bible (N.D.) Nov. 19. The Cougars were predicted to win the UMAC title in the coaches' preseason poll. Last season, UMM finished in a three-way tie for second place in the conference and return three starters, including All-UMAC performer Brendon Foss. Senior guard Tyler Pendleton leads the team with an average of 11.5 points per game so far this year, while Foss and senior post Evan Reller are close behind at 10.5 points per contest apiece. The Cougars are averaging 17 turnovers per game and are shooting 42.9 percent from the field (34.4 percent from three-point range).
LAST YEAR'S MATCHUP: SJU picked up 35 points from its bench and finished 11-for-12 from the free-throw line in a 72-67 win over Morris last Dec. 13 (2012) in Collegeville. The Johnnies erased an early 10-2 deficit with a 20-2 run en route to a 38-30 halftime lead. UMM started the second half with an 11-2 run to take a one-point lead (41-40), which was the first of seven lead changes in half. Senior Kevin McKenzie (De Pere, Wis./Notre Dame Academy) tied the game at 62-62 with a big three-pointer at the 4:22 mark and hit a pair of free throws to give the home team a two-point lead. A jumper from R.J. Dean tied it before the Johnnies were able to take the lead for good with a basket from seniors Seth Marx (Maple Grove, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret's) and Jack Wittenborg (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) each. Marx led all scorers with 16 points and missed a double-double by one rebound. Wittenborg added a career-high 14 points and McKenzie followed with 11. Chris Neumann '13 collected 10 points and six boards, while Butcher posted eight points and eight assists. Steve Birman led the Cougars with 15 points and Dean added 14. UMM made 12 three-pointers in the game but left 10 points (11-for-21) at the free-throw line.
SERIES HISTORY: Saint John's is 27-11 all-time against current members of the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference, including a 17-9 record against Minnesota-Morris. The Johnnies are 8-5 against the Cougars in Morris and have won each of the last six meetings overall.
