Box Score
Box Score | Listen to Archived Game
Post-Game Interviews:
-Marx, Schmitt & Smith (1:55)
COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Saint John's shot 64.9 percent (24-for-37) to build a 32-point lead at the half and run its win streak to four games with a 78-65 victory over Hamline on Wednesday, Jan. 29, in Collegeville.
Ahead by six (23-17) with 9:55 remaining in the opening half, SJU (9-8, 7-5 MIAC) made 15 of its final 19 shots, including nine consecutive, to ride a 35-9 run into the locker room. The Johnnies held HU (8-10, 5-8 MIAC) to 38.5 percent (10-for-26) from the field and scored 17 points off 12 turnovers in the half.
The intensity faded, however, in the second half as the Pipers shot 72.7 percent (16-for-22) from the floor and out-scored the home team 39-20 in the game's final 20 minutes.
Senior Seth Marx (Maple Grove, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret's) led all scorers with 19 points, seven rebounds and three steals. His four three-pointers on the night enabled him to pass Ryan Lieser (2005-08) for fifth in school history with 147 in 72 career games. Marx is averaging 18.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per game, while shooting 54.8 percent (23-for-42) from the field (12-for-24 from three-point range), in his last four games since cracking the starting lineup.
A pair of sophomores, Joe Risinger (Shorewood, Minn./Minnetonka) and Alex Schmitt (Chaska, Minn./Waconia), added 16 points apiece. Schmitt ended the evening 7-for-10 from the floor, but the rest of the bench combined to shoot only 26.7 percent (4-for-15). The 16 points for Risinger, meanwhile, is a career high.
Junior Blake Maslonkowski (St. Joseph, Minn./St. Cloud Apollo) added five points, eight rebounds (six offensive) and three steals.
Dior Ford led the Pipers with 16 points in 21 minutes, while Bennett Cooper, a transfer from SJU, added 11 points and seven rebounds.
With the win, SJU head coach Jim Smith improved to 77-26 all-time against Hamline, including a 43-9 record in Collegeville.
SJU travels to face Bethel for a 3 p.m. game on Saturday, Feb. 1, in Arden Hills.
