Saint John's plays host to Wisconsin-River Falls for its home opener at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 26, at Sexton Arena in Collegeville. – Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (1-2, 0-0 MIAC) was out-scored 60-43 in the second half of a 96-87 loss at Minnesota-Morris on Nov. 23. The Johnnies shot 71.4 percent (20-for-28) from the floor to build an eight-point halftime lead, 44-36, but Morris made its first six shots of the second half, including three three-pointers, to gain a 15-3 run. SJU cut its deficit to two, 71-69, with 4:52 remaining, but the Cougars made their next three shots and ended the game 16-for-16 from the free-throw line. Morris shot 76.2 percent from the field (16-for-21), including 8-for-10 from three-point range, and went 20-for-24 from the charity stripe in the second half alone. Fouls were called by a 28-11 margin against SJU and the Cougars registered 40 free-throw attempts (30-for-40) to the Johnnies' nine (7-for-9) in the game. The Johnnies out-shot UMM 59.6 percent to 57.4 from the floor. Sophomore Alex Schmitt (Chaska, Minn./Waconia) topped his previous career-high of 22 points, set in Nov. 17's win over St. Scholastica, with 23 to lead SJU off the bench. Seniors Jack Wittenborg (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) and Kevin McKenzie (De Pere, Wis./Notre Dame Academy) added 15 and 14 points, respectively. Junior Andy Jones (Excelsior, Minn./Minnetonka) totaled 10 points on a perfect 4-for-4 night from the floor in his first varsity appearance.

INSTANT OFFENSE: Schmitt is currently fourth in the MIAC in scoring, providing instant offense off the bench by averaging 19.3 points in 23.3 minutes during three road games this season. With the Johnnies' top two returning scorers from last year (Seth Marx and Mitchell Kuck) out until after Christmas, Schmitt has risen to the occasion by setting new career highs in points each of the last two games. He set a new personal mark with 22 points in the win over St. Scholastica Nov. 17, only to break it by one with 23 points against Minnesota-Morris Nov. 21. He is shooting 82.4 percent (14-17) inside the three-point arc on the year and 16-for-27 overall (59.3 percent) in his last two games, including 7-for-15 (46.7 percent) from three-point range.

59% IN A LOSS: SJU ended the game with a .597 shooting percentage, SJU's highest mark in a loss since the 67-62 loss at St. Thomas on Feb. 13, 2010 (58.5 percent). The next highest total in a loss was also recorded at St. Thomas; last year's 94-63 loss on Jan. 12, 2013 (56.5 percent).

A LOOK AT THE FALCONS: Wisconsin-River Falls (1-2, 0-0 WIAC) dropped its second game of the season to nationally-ranked St. Thomas, 75-69 on Nov. 23. UWRF shot 55.2 percent (16-for-29) from the field in the first half, including 7-for-10 from three-point range, to build a 40-29 lead at halftime. The Tommies, however, shot 54.8 percent (17-for-31) in the second half. They tied the game at 62 with 6:20 left and gained a six-point lead, 72-66, with 1:16 to play. The Falcons hit a three-pointer but UST made three of its last four free throws to seal the win. Senior forward Ollie White leads the team in scoring (16.7 ppg.) and rebounding (7.3 rpg.). Twelve of the 16-man Falcon roster hail from Minnesota.

LAST YEAR: SJU saw its 12-point, second-half lead dissolve in a 79-73 loss at River Falls last Dec. 29 (2012). 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. Seniors 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. Sophomore Mitchell Kuck (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) followed with 12 points and a game-high eight rebounds, while Chris Neumann '13 added 11 points. Zach Peterson led UWRF with 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Arik Smith tallied 15 points. The two combined for 25 points on 10-for-16 shooting in the second half alone. The Johnnies 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.

SERIES HISTORY: Saint John's is 10-13 all-time against River Falls in series that started nearly 100 years ago when the Falcons visited Collegeville on Feb. 26, 1916. SJU won that game, 50-20, in the Old Gymnasium. The Johnnies' last victory against the Falcons occurred Nov. 19, 2005, in the 2005-06 season opener (78-67). The Johnnies are 38-37 against members of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC): Eau Claire (4-3), La Crosse (4-3), Oshkosh (1-2), Platteville (0-3), River Falls (10-13), Stevens Point (2-4), Stout (9-3), Superior (7-6) and Whitewater (1-0).