Saint John's plays host to top-ranked St. Thomas for a 3 p.m. game Saturday, Feb. 9, at Sexton Arena in Collegeville. – Listen Live (Real Audio Player) | Live Stats | Live Video

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (10-12, 9-8 MIAC) let a 13-point, second-half lead slip away in a 74-67 overtime loss at Concordia-Moorhead on Feb. 6. SJU went ahead 56-43 on junior Seth Marx's (Maple Grove, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret's) fifth three-pointer of the game with 6:54 left before Concordia closed with a 19-6 run to tie it at 62-62 with five seconds left. The Johnnies turned the ball over on five consecutive possessions after Marx's trey. Junior Kevin McKenzie (De Pere, Wis./Notre Dame Academy) ran the length of the court for a last-second layup but hit the floor with no foul called, sending the game to overtime. The Cobbers made four of their final five shots and all four free throws in overtime to seal the win. The Johnnies, meanwhile, made only three of their 14 shots and committed seven of their 11 turnovers in the final 11:54 of the game, including a 2-for-9 shooting performance in the five-minute overtime.

SJU went 4:34 between made shots (8:44 to 4:10), both by senior Chris Neumann (Winsted, Minn./Holy Trinity), late in the first half before out-scoring the home team 10-6 to take a 29-29 tie into halftime. SJU shot only 35.1 percent (13-for-37) from the field, but forced nine Cobber turnovers in the game's first 20 minutes. Marx led all scorers with 26 points and grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds to post his second consecutive double-double and fourth of the season. Neumann followed with 18 points and seven boards. Aside from Marx and Neumann, the rest of the SJU squad shot 22.2 percent (10-for-45) from the field. Aaron Lindahl led CC with 21 points, including a pair of three-pointers with less than 30 seconds remaining in regulation. Andrew Martinson tied the game with a three-pointer of his own with five seconds left. SJU led by 10 (58-48) with three minutes left but missed its final four field goals (4-for-5 from the free-throw line), while CC went 5-for-6 from the floor and 4-for-5 from behind the arc. Concordia out-rebounded SJU 51-41 in the game and 18-14 on the offensive glass, though SJU tallied a 14-9 advantage in second-chance points and a 36-30 scoring margin in the paint.

SHOT ON THE MARX: Despite the pair of road losses, Marx has had quite a week so far. He recorded 28 points and 10 rebounds in the loss at Augsburg Feb. 4, and followed that performance with 26 points and a career-high 16 boards at Concordia Feb. 6. He combined to shoot 54.5 percent (18-33) from the floor and 55.6 percent (10-18) from three-point range in the two contests. Marx currently leads SJU in scoring (12.4 ppg.), rebounding (6.3 rpg.), three-pointers (53) and blocks (18), despite being held to seven points or less in eight games this season. He averaged 17.2 points and 7.5 rebounds per game while shooting 49.4 percent from the field and 48 percent from beyond the arc in the other 14 games (7-7 record).

A LOOK AT THE TOMMIES: St. Thomas (22-1, 17-1 MIAC) extended its win streak to six games with a 68-63 comeback win at Gustavus Adolphus on Feb. 6. Senior guard Will DeBerg scored all of his 19 points in the second half. After trailing 33-27 at halftime, the Tommies stormed back with a 25-5 run in the first 5:31 of the second half, including five three-pointers from DeBerg. Gustavus missed a chance to pull within one point with one minute left, but UST capitalized, adding two points to make the game 66-61 with 38 seconds remaining. The Gusties retaliated with a basket to come within three, but DeBerg ended the home team's chances with two free throws. UST currently leads Division III (as of Feb. 6) in three statistical categories: scoring margin (+24.0 ppg.), field-goal percentage (.529) and assist/turnover ratio (1.64). DeBerg leads the squad with an average of 12.6 points per game, while classmate Tommy Hannon averages 10.8 points and a team-leading 6.4 rebounds per game.

EARLIER THIS SEASON: Then-No. 2 St. Thomas went on a 23-0 run in the first half en route to a 94-63 win over Saint John's on Jan. 12 in St. Paul. A three-pointer from McKenzie gave SJU a 12-10 lead with 14:16 left in the first half before UST put together a 27-2 run. McKenzie tied a career high with 13 points to lead the Johnnies, who were out-scored 29-10 off turnovers and out-rebounded 33-18 (13-6 on offensive glass) in the game. SJU out-shot the Tommies, 56.5 percent to 56.4 percent, but committed 22 turnovers and left 12 points at the free-throw line (6-for-18). Junior Amemou Jean-Baptiste (Sioux Falls, S.D./Chapel Field Christian, N.Y.) totaled a career-high 10 points off the bench. Marx, who suffered a sprained shoulder in the final minute of the loss to Concordia-Moorhead Jan. 9, was held scoreless. He entered the contest averaging 11.5 points and five rebounds in two career games against the Tommies. Zach Riedeman led UST with 22 points in 17 minutes of play. Tommy Hannon added 12 points and eight rebounds.

SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 39-66 against UST under the direction of Smith, including a 24-24 record in Collegeville. The series is tied 6-6 in the last 12 meetings in Sexton Arena.