Saint John's wraps up its three-game road stretch against Concordia-Moorhead with a 7 p.m. game tonight at Memorial Auditorium in Moorhead – Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats | Live Video
A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Augsburg scored points on its final four possessions in a 75-71 win over Saint John's (5-7, 3-4 MIAC) on Jan. 13 in Minneapolis. SJU went on a 14-7 run midway through the second half to build its largest lead of the game, 59-53, with 8:39 left. Augsburg, however, went on a 7-0 run to take a 60-59 lead and added a 6-0 run, after the Johnnies gained a one-point lead, to earn a 66-61 lead. Junior Jacob Peterson (Golden Valley, Minn./Hopkins) gave the lead back to SJU, 67-66, with a pair of free throws with 2:45 on the clock, but Andy Seidlitz gave it right back to Augsburg with his fifth three-pointer of the game.
Sophomore Alex Schmitt (Chaska, Minn./Waconia) tied it at the other end with two free throws for SJU with 1:57 left. Noah Veach grabbed an offensive rebound, off a missed shot from Seidlitz, was fouled and made two free throws to give the home team a 71-69 lead. Sophomore Joe Risinger (Shorewood, Minn./Minnetonka) missed a three-pointer and Dan Kornbaum added his 12th field goal of the night to grow the Johnnies' deficit to four. The Auggies, who entered the game shooting 69.6 percent from the free-throw line on the year, made two of their four free throws the rest of the way to clinch the win and end the night 14-for-17 (82.4) from the line. Four Johnnies scored in double figures, led by Schmitt and senior Patrick Butcher (Louisville, Ky./St. Xavier) with 15 points apiece. Risinger collected 11 points and five rebounds, while senior Kevin McKenzie (De Pere, Wis./Notre Dame Academy) added 10 points. Kornbaum led all scorers with 28 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Seidlitz added 22 points and five assists. The Auggies shot 55.1 percent (27-for-49) for the game and 63.6 percent (7-for-11) from beyond the arc. SJU committed only four turnovers in the game and forced 15, out-scoring Augsburg 22-5 off of the extra possessions, but was out-rebounded 35-25.
BUTCHERING LATELY?: Butcher continues to lead the MIAC (all games) with a .525 three-point shooting percentage and is averaging 15 points per game, turnover-free (seven assists), over his last three contests.
NEARLY 60% IN SECOND HALF: The Johnnies have shot 50 percent or better from the field in the second half of each of their last five games, but are 2-3 during that span. If you remove the three-point shots (15-for-39), SJU shot 59.6 percent (56-for-94) from "inside" the arc.
TURNOVERS TO POINTS: SJU has scored 80 points off 57 opponent turnovers the last four games.
A LOOK AT THE COBBERS: Concordia (6-7, 2-6 MIAC) returns to action following a week off since its pair of losses, in back-to-back days (Jan. 7-8), in Northfield: St. Olaf (61-71) and Carleton (53-54). Sophomore Jordan Bolger leads the team in both scoring (12.8 ppg.) and rebounding (6.9 rpg.). The Cobbers are shooting 44.2 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from behind the arc, but are averaging 34.2 rebounds per game (11.4 on the offensive glass).
LAST SEASON: The Johnnies lost both of its games to Concordia last season for the first time since 2003-04, beginning with a 70-67 decision last Jan. 9 (2013) in Collegeville. Chris Neumann '13 tallied career highs in points (22) and rebounds (10) to record his first career double-double on a perfect 11-for-11 night from the floor. He fouled out with 33 seconds remaining. The rest of the team combined to shoot 36.2 percent (17-for-47), including 30.4 percent (7-for-23) from the other four starters. Concordia led by eight (66-58) with 55 seconds left before SJU cut it down to one (68-67) with 17 seconds remaining. Five quick points off the bench from Schmitt and a layup by senior Jack Wittenborg (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) cut the Cobbers' lead to 68-65. Sophomore Mitchell Kuck (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) turned a CC turnover on the in-bounds play into a bucket to make it 68-67. Concordia's Brandon Fisher made the first of two free throws with 12 seconds left, but the Johnnies' final effort, a baseline runner fell off the iron. Ebo Nana-Kweson made the first of his two free throws but Wittenborg's three-quarter-court heave was off the mark. Wittenborg followed Neumann with 11 points and Kuck added seven for SJU. The Cobbers entered the game shooting 50.1 percent from the field but finished the game at 45.1 percent (23-for-51), including a 2-for-14 showing (14.3 percent) from three-point range. SJU shot 48.3 percent (28-for-58) for the game and held a 17-7 scoring advantage off turnovers, including an 11-1 margin in the second half alone.
SJU let a 13-point, second-half lead slip away in a 74-67 overtime loss in Moorhead Feb. 6. The Johnnies went ahead 56-43 on senior 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. McKenzie 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 Neumann, 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.
SERIES HISTORY: SJU is 69-32 all-time against the Cobbers under the direction of head coach Jim Smith, but just 25-26 in Memorial Auditorium. The Johnnies have lost in eight of their last 10 trips to Moorhead, including each of the last six.
WHAT'S UP WITH MEMORIAL'S HOOPS?: The Johnnies have combined to shoot only 38.4 percent (135-for-352) from the field, including 32.7 percent (34-for-104) from three-point range, in their last six games in Memorial Auditorium.
