Saint John's wraps up the 2013 portion of its basketball schedule by playing host to top-ranked Wisconsin-Stevens Point for a 3 p.m. game Saturday, Dec. 14, 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 (3-4, 1-2 MIAC) enters Saturday's contest riding a two-game skid following a 71-47 home loss to Gustavus Adolphus Wednesday (Dec. 11) night. Gustavus took advantage of an SJU drought late in the first half to build an 18-point lead and never looked back. SJU missed its last six shots of the first half after sophomore Alex Schmitt (Chaska, Minn./Waconia) made a jumper to cut the Johnnies' deficit to nine, 25-16, with 5:36 left. The home team shot only 30.4 percent (7-for-23) from the field and turned the ball over seven times, which led to nine GAC points, in the first half. The Johnnies scored 10 of the second half's first 16 points, but GAC answered with a 7-0 run to put the game away. Schmitt led SJU with 12 points off the bench, while junior Blake Maslonkowski (St. Joseph, Minn./St. Cloud Apollo) added 11 points and five rebounds. Aside from Maslonkowski, the other four starters combined for 4-for-15 shooting, 12 points and six turnovers. GAC out-rebounded the Johnnies 37-23, including a 14-7 advantage on the offensive glass, which led to a 10-5 edge in second-chance points in the contest. The Gusties also turned 14 SJU turnovers into 17 points (17-6 advantage).
ANOTHER BAD FIRST HALF: SJU entered Monday night's game at Hamline shooting 54.2 percent in the first half of its first five games this season, but has combined to shoot only 30.1 percent in the first 20 minutes of its last two games (30.0 percent at Hamline and 30.4 percent vs. Gustavus). The last time SJU shot 30 percent or worse in the first half of back-to-back games occurred during the 2003-04 season: Feb. 4 at St. Olaf (26.7 percent, 8-for-30) and Feb. 11 at Bethel (25.8 percent, 8-for-31). The two losses were the first of a six-game losing streak to end the season.
A LOOK AT THE POINTERS: Wisconsin-Stevens Point (6-0, 2-0 WIAC) travels to Collegeville ranked No. 1 in NCAA Division III. The Pointers built a 20-point halftime lead to take down No. 8 Wisconsin-Whitewater 79-67 at home Wednesday night. Seniors Tyler Tillema and Trevor Hass lead the team in scoring with an average of 22.6 and 19.3 points per game, respectively. The Pointers lead Division III in both shooting percentage (.595) and three-point shooting percentage (.598), and average 83.7 points per game, resulting in an average scoring margin of 22.3 points over its opponents.
SCORING IN BUNCHES: UWSP trailed Whitewater by a 9-5 score early on but then used a 29-5 run over a period of nearly 10 minutes to build a 34-14 lead at the 5:27 mark of the opening half. The Pointers led by as many as 23 points in the first half and took a 42-22 lead into the locker room. The Warhawks came out of the break strong, scoring the first 10 points of the second half, but the Pointers responded with a 10-1 run of their own to stretch the lead back to 19 with 14:30 to go.
LAST YEAR: Then-No. 15 Wisconsin-Stevens Point rode the momentum of a first-half surge to an 82-52 win over SJU last Nov. 20 (2012) in Stevens Point, Wis. The Pointers shot an incredible 70.6 percent (12-for-17) in the final 10 minutes of the first half to outscore SJU 30-12 en route to a 45-25 halftime lead. SJU shot 36 percent (9-for-25) from the field and Stevens Point capitalized on the Johnnies' 11 turnovers with 19 points in the game's first 20 minutes. The home team scored 38 points off SJU's 24 turnovers in the game and held a 32-8 scoring advantage in the paint. UWSP started the second half with a 14-0 run before sophomore Mitchell Kuck (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) ended the drought 5:18 in. SJU was held to 10 points in the half until 4:51 was left on the clock. Schmitt led the Johnnies with 16 points, while Kuck added 11 points, including nine in the first half. Chris Neumann '13 grabbed seven rebounds but was held scoreless as the five Johnnie starters combined for 11 points on the night. Heuer and Tillema led four Pointers in double figures with 18 points apiece.
SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 2-5 all-time against the Pointers in a series that began annually following the two teams' meeting in the 2007 NCAA Division III Tournament. The last time UWSP visited Collegeville was a 60-55 SJU win on Nov. 22, 2011. The Pointers have been nationally-ranked in each of the last six meetings with SJU. Saturday's game will be the third instance of Stevens Point being ranked No. 1 nationally, but the first in a meeting at Sexton Arena: March 3, 2007 (L, 76-93 in NCAA Tournament) and Nov. 20, 2010 (L, 51-78).
