The SJU basketball team hits the road to face Hamline for a 7:30 p.m. game tonight at Hutton Arena in St. Paul. – Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats | Live Video
A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (3-2, 1-0 MIAC) took advantage of a fast start to the game in a 68-57 win over Saint Mary's in the Johnnies' conference opener on Dec. 7 in Collegeville. SJU made seven of its first 10 shots and led by as much as 19, 29-10, with 6:42 left in the first half. SMU, however, rode a 16-6 run into halftime to trail by only nine (35-26). The Cardinals trailed by only six (47-41) with 9:37 remaining in the game, but sophomore Alex Schmitt (Chaska, Minn./Waconia) sparked SJU to a 15-6 run to bring the Johnnies' lead back to 15 with five minutes left. Schmitt tallied all 13 of his points in a 4:10 span. Senior Jack Wittenborg (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) added 11 points, while senior Patrick Butcher (Louisville, Ky./St. Xavier) and sophomore Joe Risinger (Shorewood, Minn./Minnetonka) added 10 points apiece.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE: Junior Blake Maslonkowski (St. Joseph, Minn./St. Cloud Apollo) led five Johnnies in double figures against Saint Mary's with 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for his first double-double as a Johnnie.
MORE ASSISTS, ANOTHER CAREER HIGH: Senior Kevin McKenzie (De Pere, Wis./Notre Dame Academy) tied his career-high of eight assists, set in SJU's win Nov. 23 against Wisconsin-River Falls, with eight in the first half alone Saturday and finished with 12 for the game. The 12 assists is the most for a Johnnie since Feb. 19, 2002 (12 by Ryan Keating vs. Macalester). McKenzie now has 171 assists in 83 career games (52 starts), 58 behind Corey Jackson (1992-96) for 10th on SJU's all-time list.
ONE MORE WIN FROM 17TH: SJU head coach Jim Smith earned career win No. 758 (758-537) with the victory Saturday and is one away from tying Ed Diddle (Western Kentucky, 1923-64) for 17th on college basketball's all-divisions win list. Smith is now 78-21 all-time (.788) against Saint Mary's, including a 49-1 record at home.
40 YEARS AGO TONIGHT: The Johnnies celebrate the 40th anniversary of their first home game in the Warner Palaestra tonight. SJU defeated St. Cloud State by a 67-58 score that night and boasts a 357-122 (.745) record all-time in the building.
A LOOK AT THE PIPERS: Hamline (2-3, 0-2 MIAC) aims to end a two-game skid following its 72-68 loss at Carleton on Saturday (Dec. 7). The Pipers held a 12-point lead, 57-45, with 10:53 remaining but the Knights went on a 24-9 run to take the lead with 1:55 left. Dior Ford leads the team with an average of 18.4 points per game, followed by Austin Johnson (12.0 ppg.) and his team-best .641 shooting percentage. The Pipers are shooting 60.0 percent (109-for-182) inside the three-point arc (35.4 percent outside) and average 15 turnovers per game.
LAST YEAR'S MATCHUPS: HU snapped the Johnnies' five-game win streak in the series with a 75-59 home win last Nov. 28 (2012) in St. Paul, but SJU rebounded with a 75-59 win of its own on Jan. 16 in Sexton Arena. Hamline scored the game's first eight points and shot 59.1 percent (13-for-22) from the floor in the second half of its victory over SJU in the conference opener for both teams. Senior Nick Meyer (Plymouth, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret's) doubled his previous career high by leading the Johnnies with 16 points off the bench, while classmate and high-school teammate Seth Marx (Maple Grove, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret's) added 10. The Johnnies shot 23.5 percent (4-for-17) from three-point range and only scored 12 points off the Pipers' 17 turnovers in the game. Ford and Tyler Pannell tallied 16 points apiece to lead the Pipers, who also out-rebounded SJU 32-22 in the game.
SJU reciprocated its 75-59 loss to Hamline with a 75-59 win over the Pipers in Collegeville. The Johnnies held Hamline to a .286 shooting percentage in the first half but only led 35-26 at intermission, thanks to 10 points off eight SJU turnovers. The Pipers cut their deficit to as little as five (51-46) with 12:04 to go but made only four of their final 17 shot attempts (23.5 percent) the rest of the way. Marx led SJU with 21 points and added 10 rebounds to post his second double-double of the season and third of his career. He was 4-for-8 from behind the arc and made five of his six free-throw attempts. Chris Neumann '13 collected 17 points and a career-high 15 rebounds for his second straight double-double on the home court. Sophomore Mitchell Kuck (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) followed with 19 points and seven assists. Noah Aguirre led all scorers with 25 points for HU.
SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 76-25 all-time against Hamline under the direction of Smith, including a 34-16 record in St. Paul. SJU has won six of the last eight meetings in Hutton Arena.
