Box ScoreSTEVENS POINT, Wis. – Turnovers and second-chance points plagued Saint John's in a 70-59 loss at No. 7 Wisconsin-Stevens Point in the season opener for both teams on Saturday, Nov. 15, in Stevens Point, Wis.
The Pointers turned 10 offensive rebounds into 15 points (15-4 advantage) and added another 19 points off 19 SJU turnovers in the game.
The Johnnies led by as much as eight, 27-19, in the first half and took a five-point lead (29-24) into intermission. UWSP, however, started the second half with a 9-0 run. SJU gained a one-point lead on a layup from junior
Joe Risinger (Shorewood, Minn./Minnetonka) with 10:16 left to play, but the home team answered with six straight points and led the rest of the way.
Junior
Mitchell Kuck (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) led SJU with 16 points and four assists, while classmate
Alex Schmitt (Waconia, Minn.) and Risinger followed with 14 and 13 points, respectively. Senior
Blake Maslonkowski (St. Joseph, Minn./St. Cloud Apollo) added five points and eight rebounds.
Alex Richard led all scorers with 22 points for UWSP, which was out-shot 50.0-44.4 percent from the field and out-rebounded 30-26 in the game.
The Johnnies play host to Minnesota-Morris for their home opener, the first of five straight games in Sexton Arena, at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 20.
