Saint John's plays host to Macalester for a 7:30 p.m. game on Wednesday, Jan. 8, at Sexton Arena in Collegeville. – Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM, via Real Audio Player) | Live Stats | Live Video
A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (4-5, 2-2 MIAC) started the New Year with a 69-55 home win over Bethel on Jan. 4 in Collegeville. The Johnnies 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, his first game as a non-starter this season. 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. 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.
SINGLE DIGITS FROM THREE IN FIRST HALF: The Johnnies made only one of their 11 three-point attempts, 9.1 percent, in the first half of their win over Bethel on Saturday. The last time SJU shot in the single digits, in regard to percentage, from behind the arc in the first half of a game was a 0-for-7 performance at Saint Mary's on Jan. 30, 2010 (SJU won, 66-55).
1,300: With the home win against Bethel Saturday afternoon, SJU head coach Jim 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). Wednesday night's tilt against the Scots will be Smith's 1,300th career game at SJU.
MIAC LEADER: SJU's Blake Maslonkowski currently leads the MIAC (all games) in shooting percentage at 75.0 percent (33-for-44), nearly 10 percentage points ahead of second place (Gustavus' Brody Ziegler, 65.4). Maslonkowski tallied 10 points and 11 rebounds against Bethel Saturday for his second double-double of the season.
FREE-THROW SHOOTING: Smith's crew shot 81.3 percent (39-for-48) from the free-throw line the last three games and is at 77 percent (104-for-135) for the season. The Johnnies have ended the year above 74 percent from the charity stripe only once in the past 31 seasons (2006-07, 74.9 percent). SJU shot 66.3 percent from the free-throw line last year, its worst season since 2004-05 (65.6 percent).
MAKEUP GAME VS. AUGSBURG: The Johnnies' game at Augsburg, which was scheduled for Monday night but postponed due to the frigid temperatures, is rescheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 13, at Si Melby Hall in Minneapolis. Due to the change, SJU will now play three consecutive road games, beginning with a 3 p.m. contest Saturday, Jan. 11, at St. Olaf: Jan. 11 (at St. Olaf), Jan. 13 (at Augsburg) and Jan. 15 (at Concordia).
A LOOK AT THE SCOTS: Macalester (2-9, 1-5 MIAC) travels to Collegeville riding a six-game losing streak since it defeated Concordia-Moorhead 79-76 on Dec. 5. Gustavus Adolphus shot 20.7 percent (6-for-29) from the field in the first half and trailed 27-14 at the break, but shot 69 percent (20-for-29) the rest of the way to rally past Mac in a 75-62 win Jan. 6 in St. Paul. The Gusties scored 36 points off 27 Macalester turnovers in the contest. The Scots average 16.8 turnovers per game. Sophomore Dylan Kilgour leads the team with an average of 15.9 points per game, followed by 6-foot-7 freshman Kareem Ismail with 12.3 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. Ismail was named the MIAC Athlete of the Week after 27-point, 12-rebound performance in the win against the Cobbers.
LAST YEAR'S MEETINGS: The Johnnies swept the Scots with a pair of double-digit wins last season. SJU posted an 89-57 win last Dec. 5 (2012) in Collegeville and followed that with an 85-64 victory last Jan. 23 (2013) in St. Paul. The home team doubled Macalester's shooting percentage and scoring output in the first half en route to the 89-57 win. The Johnnies shot 55.6 percent (20-for-36) to the Scots' 28.0 percent (7-for-25) to build a 46-23 halftime lead. Macalester made six of its first seven shots of the second half to cut its deficit to 15 (52-37) five minutes in but finished 5-for-19 (26.3 percent) the rest of the way. Sophomore Mitchell Kuck (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) led the Johnnies with 21 points in 23 minutes, 18 of which came in the first half, to record his second consecutive 20-point game. Wittenborg tied his career high with 13 points off the bench and Chris Neumann '13 added 10. Sophomore Trevor O'Brien (New Prague, Minn.) tallied a career-high nine points and senior Seth Marx (Maple Grove, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret's) collected seven points and seven rebounds. Sam Marshall led Mac, who was without its leading scorer, Pierce Peters (20.2 ppg.), with 20 points. SJU shot 64.3 percent (18-for-28) in the second half to finish at 59.4 percent (38-for-64) for the game. The home team held impressive statistical advantages in rebounds (41-24), points in the paint (44-22), points off turnovers (17-7) and second-chance points (15-3). Fouls were whistled to a 21-9 tune against SJU.
SJU made a school-record 17 three-pointers in an 85-64 win at Macalester, the Johnnies' fifth victory in a row, in St. Paul. The Johnnies took advantage of Macalester's 2-3 zone defense with nine three-pointers (9-for-17) to gain a 43-35 lead at halftime. Wittenborg, Kuck and sophomore Alex Schmitt (Chaska, Minn./Waconia) combined for 31 points and a 7-for-9 showing from behind the arc in the first half. The Scots shot 52.2 percent (12-for-23) from the field and made eight of their nine free-throw attempts in the first half, but committed nine turnovers. The Johnnies started the second half with a 22-9 run and made eight of their 10 three-point attempts in the game's final 20 minutes. Schmitt led SJU with a career-high 19 points and five three-pointers off the bench. Kuck and Wittenborg followed with 14 and 12 points, respectively, while Marx posted 14 points. The four combined for a 15-for-23 (65.2 percent) showing from three-point land. Neumann was held to only two points in the night's three-point-happy offense, but added nine rebounds and three blocks. Marshall led Mac with 23 points and Kilgour added 17. The Scots shot 40.4 percent (19-for-47) from the floor but went 21-for-23 at the free-throw line. SJU was whistled for 18 fouls to just five for the home team. Mac entered the contest averaging 18.1 fouls per game. SJU committed only five turnovers in the game and tallied 12 points off 14 Macalester miscues.
SERIES HISTORY: SJU is 71-28 all-time against Macalester under the direction of Smith, including a 38-11 record in Sexton Arena. The Johnnies have won 16 of the last 17 meetings overall and 21 of the last 23 at home.
