Saint John's takes its seven-game win streak to Augsburg for a 7:30 p.m. game tonight at Si Melby Hall in Minneapolis. – Listen Live (Real Audio Player) | Live Stats/Live Video
A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (10-10, 9-6 MIAC) shot 52.2 percent (12-for-23) from three-point range and 84 percent (21-for-25) from the free-throw line to earn its seventh consecutive victory, 89-82 over Bethel on Jan. 30 in Collegeville. The Johnnies shot 60 percent (15-for-25) from the field to gain a six-point lead (43-37) at halftime. Bethel held a lead for 6:04 span in the second half and re-gained its lead by one (61-60) with a pair of free throws from Taylor Hall with 8:34 remaining. SJU, however, proceeded to shoot 7-for-8 from the floor and 12 of 14 from the charity stripe the rest of the way. Senior Chris Neumann (Winsted, Minn./Holy Trinity) led SJU with 21 points, including two three-pointers, while freshman Alex Schmitt (Chaska, Minn./Waconia) added 18 off the bench. Junior Jack Wittenborg (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) tied a career high with 14 points and classmate Seth Marx (Maple Grove, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret's) added nine points and 10 rebounds. Hall led all scorers with 27 points before fouling out with 51 seconds remaining. J.D. Robinson recorded 18 points, all on three-pointers (6-for-10), for BU. The two teams combined to shoot 47.6 percent from beyond the arc (20-for-42) and 78.8 percent (41-52) from the free-throw line.
TAKING CARE OF THE BASKETBALL, AFTER HALFTIME: The Johnnies have committed 36 turnovers in their last five games, an average of 7.2 per contest. SJU, however, as only turned the ball over a total of five times in the second half of its last four games (1.3 avg.).
NEUMANN AT HOME: Neumann currently leads the MIAC (conference games only) with a .663 shooting percentage (65-for-98) and is shooting 67.5 percent (52-for-77), while leading the team in scoring (11.6 ppg.) and rebounding (6.6 rpg.) in 10 home games this season.
STREAK STATS: SJU is shooting 49.5 percent from the field during its current seven-game winning streak, including 45.5 percent (56-for-123) from three-point range. The Johnnies have out-rebounded their opponents 33.3-29.6 per game and held a 12-point advantage on the scoreboard (74.1-62.1 ppg.).
A LOOK AT THE AUGGIES: Augsburg (15-5, 10-5 MIAC) enters tonight's game riding a two-game losing streak after falling at Concordia-Moorhead (88-68) Jan. 26 and at home to nationally-ranked St. Thomas (66-56) Feb. 2. The Auggies led UST by a point (26-25) at the half before the Tommies opened the second-half on a 13-3 run. Senior Tyler Schmidt hit a three-pointer at the 4:34 mark to cut the Tommie lead to 55-50, but St. Thomas made 11 of its 12 free-throw attempts the rest of the way. Senior Eren Cur posted his first career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Junior Dan Kornbaum, a transfer from Division II Minnesota-Duluth, finished with 13 points and Schmidt added 10. Augsburg shot 40.4 percent (19-of-47) from the floor, while the Tommies connected on 44.0 percent (22-of-50) of their shots. UST held a 35-26 advantage on the boards and outscored the Auggies 15-5 off turnovers. Kornbaum leads the team in scoring (18.4 ppg.) and rebounding (7.8 rpg.) while shooting 60.7 percent from the field this season.
EARLIER THIS SEASON: Augsburg took full advantage of its extra possessions in a 77-65 win at Saint John's earlier this season on Jan. 7 in Collegeville. The Johnnies jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the game's first minute, but Augsburg retaliated with seven straight points off its own en route to a 38-15 run and a 38-22 halftime lead. The Auggies shot 47.1 percent (16-for-34), including four of eight from beyond the arc, in the first half. The 16-point lead was crafted from points off turnovers (11-5) and second-chance points (12-2). SJU, meanwhile, shot 33.3 percent (9-for-27) in the opening half with 11 misses in the paint (19 total in the game). Marx led SJU with 11 points, while sophomore Jacob Peterson (Golden Valley, Minn./Hopkins) and freshman Mitchell Kuck (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) added nine points apiece. Dan Kornbaum led the Auggies with 26 points and nine rebounds. The Johnnies shot 57.1 percent (16-for-28) to out-score the visitors 43-39 in the second half. Augsburg, however, also shot 56.5 percent in the game's final 20 minutes and ended the contest with 21 points off the Johnnies' 13 turnovers and a 19-10 advantage in second-chance points.
SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 51-51 all-time (4-1 in MIAC Playoffs) against the Auggies under the direction of head coach Jim Smith, but just 20-32 in Minneapolis. Last year's 47-45 win at Augsburg in the MIAC Playoffs snapped a six-game losing streak for the Johnnies at Si Melby Hall.
