Box ScoreST. PAUL, Minn. – Division II Concordia-St. Paul used a late run to pull away and hand Saint John's an 83-58 exhibition loss on Wednesday, Oct. 29, in St. Paul.
SJU trailed 53-49 with 7:02 left before the Golden Bears went on a 20-0 run over a 4:36 span before junior
Tarik Hujdurovic (Tuzla, Bosnia/Saint John's Prep) made two free throws with 2:26 remaining.
CU led by as much as 12 with 5:44 left in the first half, but SJU cut its deficit to 36-34 at the break thanks to an 8-2 run.
Junior
Joe Risinger (Shorewood, Minn./Minnetonka) led SJU with 15 points and three blocks, while junior
Alex Schmitt (Chaska, Minn./Waconia) added 13 points, all in the first half. Ten of Schmitt's 13 points came in the first 6:18 of the game.
Cole Olstad led all scorers with 19 points for Concordia-St. Paul, which out-rebounded the Johnnies 53-33, including a 19-5 advantage on the offensive glass. The home team then turned the extra possessions into a 21-2 margin on the scoreboard (second-chance points).
SJU shot 25 percent (7-for-28) from the field in the second half, 35.6 percent overall (21-for-59), and 3-for-20 (15 percent) from three-point range in the game.
Junior
Mitchell Kuck (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) chipped in seven points and collected five assists, while Hujdurovic posted seven points and a team-high six rebounds off the bench.
The Johnnies officially begin their 2014-15 season with a 7 p.m. game at No. 7 Wisconsin-Stevens Point on Saturday, Nov. 15.
