Saint John's plays host to Gustavus Adolphus for a 7:30 p.m. game tonight (Wednesday, Dec. 11) at Sexton Arena in Collegeville. – Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM, via Real Audio Player) | Live Stats | Live Video

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (3-3, 1-1 MIAC) looks to bounce back from a tough 72-50 loss at Hamline Dec. 9. HU out-scored the Johnnies 53-26 in the game's final 24:13, including a 12-0 run to end the first half and take a 31-24 lead into intermission. SJU cut its deficit to seven, 49-42, with 10:30 remaining, but made only three of its last 15 shots (20 percent). HU, meanwhile, shot 69.2 percent (9-for-13) from the field, including 4-for-5 from three-point range, to blow the game wide open. Senior Patrick Butcher (Louisville, Ky./St. Xavier) was the lone Johnnie to reach double figures with 15 points. Senior Nick Meyer (Plymouth, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret's) added eight points off the bench, while sophomore Joe Risinger (Shorewood, Minn./Minnetonka) collected six points and seven rebounds. Butcher and Meyer combined to shoot 50 percent (9-for-18) from the floor, while the rest of the team combined for a 29.3-percent showing (12-for-41). Junior Blake Maslonkowski (St. Joseph, Minn./St. Cloud Apollo) and sophomore Alex Schmitt (Chaska, Minn./Waconia) also contributed six points apiece. Zach Moll led the Pipers with 17 points thanks to a 5-for-6 showing from beyond the arc, all of which was recorded in the second half. Austin Johnson and Bennett Cooper added 14 and 13 points, respectively. The three combined to shoot 69.2 percent (18-for-26) from the floor.

ONE LONG SHOT: SJU trailed Hamline the entire second half Monday night but attempted only one three-pointer in the final 20 minutes.

NEARLY 27 YEARS AGO: The 50 points scored by SJU is the fewest against Hamline since Feb. 2, 1987 (a 71-50 SJU loss in St. Paul).

STAT ODDITIES: The Johnnies ended the game shooting 35.6 percent from the field (21-for-59) in St. Paul, including 30 percent from three-point range (3-for-10). SJU entered the game averaging 82 points per game and shooting 53.6 percent from the field, with at least three individuals reaching double digits in points, this season. Prior to Monday, the last time only one Johnnie reached double figures in a game was 11 months ago (Seth Marx with 11 vs. Augsburg on Jan. 7, 2013).

26th: The loss at Hamline was just the 26th in 102 games (76-26 record, .745) against the Pipers for SJU head basketball coach Jim Smith. He is one away from tying Ed Diddle (Western Kentucky, 1923-64) for 17th on college basketball's all-divisions win list with a 758-538 career record in 50 seasons.

TOP SHOOTING TEAMS IN COLLEGEVILLE THIS WEEK: Thru games of Dec. 8, three of the top five teams in NCAA Division III, according to shooting percentage, will be in Collegeville this week: top-ranked Wisconsin-Stevens Point (.615), No. 2 Gustavus Adolphus (.579) and No. 5 SJU (.536).

A LOOK AT THE GUSTIES: Gustavus Adolphus (6-1, 3-0 MIAC) travels to Collegeville tonight riding a three-game win streak, after, like SJU, falling at Minnesota-Morris (Nov. 23). The Gusties tallied a 20-point win, 74-54, at home over Augsburg Monday night. Junior Isaac Tapp led GAC, which shot 60.3 percent from the field, with 20 points on 9-for-11 shooting. Senior Jordan Dick leads the team with an average of 14.3 point per game, 0.2 ahead of Tapp. The Gusties are shooting 58.3 percent from the field, including 47.7 percent from three-point range, and average 14 turnovers per game.

HOT FROM THE START: All five of Gustavus' starters are averaging over 60 percent from the field this season: Dick (.607), Tapp (.612), junior Martin Feddersen (.647), junior Brian Jacobs (.628) and sophomore Brody Ziegler (.698).

LAST YEAR'S MEETINGS: Saint John's swept the season series with Gustavus for the first time since the 2006-07 season. SJU earned its first win of the season with a hard-fought 69-65 victory at Gustavus last Dec. 1 (2012) in St. Peter. Senior Seth Marx (Maple Grove, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret's) led SJU with 32 points, including eight three-pointers, both of which were career highs. He finished 9-for-13 from the floor, eight of 11 from three-point range, and 6-for-6 from the free-throw line with nine rebounds and two blocks. Marx drained two free throws with nine seconds left to seal the win, which is just the Johnnies' third in their last 13 trips to St. Peter. SJU led 35-27 at the half, but Gustavus started the second half with a 10-1 run to take a 37-36 lead. The game was tied on six more occasions before the Johnnies gained an eight-point lead (67-59) on a trey from Marx with 3:05 left. Senior Nick Meyer (Plymouth, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret's) added eight points and classmate Kevin McKenzie (De Pere, Wis./Notre Dame Academy) collected four points, six assists and two steals with no turnovers. SJU committed only five turnovers in the game, two of which occurred in the final minutes. The visitors shot 51 percent (26-for-51) in the game, including 53.3 percent (8-for-15) from beyond the arc.

SJU's Chris Orgas '13 made two free throws with 2.5 seconds left, his only two points of the contest, as the Johnnies extended their win streak to six games with a 59-57 win over the Gusties on Jan. 26 in Collegeville. Orgas was fouled while grabbing a defensive rebound and took his place at the charity stripe with SJU only 6-for-16 at the free-throw line in the game. Gustavus attempted to inbound the ball but Marx knocked the initial throw-in and time expired. The Gusties led by as much as 10 (43-33) with 15 minutes remaining, but missed their final seven shots from the floor. Butcher led the Johnnies with 14 points off the bench, 13 of which came in the second half. Sophomore Mitchell Kuck (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) followed with 12 points and Schmitt added 10 points off the bench. McKenzie collected eight points and five assists. The Johnnies shot 59.1 percent (13-for-22) in the second half to earn the win.

SERIES HISTORY: SJU is 52-54 all-time against the Gusties under the direction of Smith, including a 31-20 record in Collegeville. Despite the Johnnies' sweep of GAC last season, SJU is only 4-10 in its last 14 meetings with the Gusties.