Box Score
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COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Saint John's started the New Year with a 69-55 home win over Bethel on Saturday, Jan. 4, in Collegeville.
The Johnnies (4-5, 2-2 MIAC) found themselves ahead by two, 31-29, at the half despite making only one of their 11 three-point shot attempts (37.5 percent from the field overall). The tide turned in the second half, however, as SJU shot 58.3 percent (14-for-24) from the floor, including a 4-for-8 showing from behind the arc.
SJU built a 20-point lead, 61-41, thanks to a 22-7 run with 7:12 remaining before the Royals (7-3, 3-2 MIAC) went on a 12-0 run to cut their deficit to eight with four minutes left. The Johnnies went 4:35 without a made field goal during the momentum shift before senior Kevin McKenzie (De Pere, Wis./Notre Dame Academy) poured in six points in 1:19 to bring the home team's lead back to 14.
Senior Jack Wittenborg (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) recorded a career-high 19 points, 16 of which came in the second half, and sophomore Joe Risinger (Shorewood, Minn./Minnetonka) added a career-high 14 points on a perfect 5-for-5 shooting day off the bench. McKenzie finished the contest with 11 points, three assists and a career-high five steals.
Junior Blake Maslonkowski (St. Joseph, Minn./St. Cloud Apollo) tallied 10 points and 11 rebounds for his second double-double of the season.
Senior Seth Marx (Maple Grove, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret's) scored two points and grabbed two rebounds in eight minutes, his first game of the 2013-14 season due to a knee injury suffered during preseason practice.
Jackson Canfield and Brycen Wojta led BU, which entered the game with wins in seven of its last eight contests, with eight points apiece. Bethel's leading scorer with an average of 16.4 points per game, Wojta was held to 3-for-12 shooting and committed five turnovers.
SJU out-rebounded the Royals 34-29, posted a 24 points off 19 turnovers and ended the game 18-for-24 from the free-throw line.
With the win, SJU head coach Jim Smith improved to 52-24 all-time against Bethel, including a 32-8 record in Collegeville. More importantly, Smith moved into a tie with Ed Diddle (Western Kentucky, 1923-64) for 17th on college basketball's all-time wins list with victory No. 759 (759-540 record in 50 seasons).
The Johnnies travel to face Augsburg for a 7:30 p.m. contest on Monday, Jan. 6, at Si Melby Hall in Minneapolis. The game is the 1,300th of Smith's career at SJU.
