Box ScoreCOLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – No. 5 St. Thomas out-rebounded Saint John's 52-26 in the game, including a 23-6 advantage on the offensive glass, in a 77-69 win over the Johnnies on Saturday, Dec. 6, in Sexton Arena.
UST (5-1, 1-1 MIAC) turned the 23 offensive rebounds into 35 second-chance points (35-5) and posted a 40-28 scoring margin in the paint.
Junior
Alex Schmitt (Waconia, Minn.) led all scorers with a career-high 33 points on 14 of 26 shooting (5-for-10 from three-point range) for SJU (3-2, 1-1 MIAC). He tallied 21 points on 9-for-13 shooting in the first half alone, including a three-pointer with three seconds remaining to give the Johnnies a 35-34 halftime lead.
The Tommies started the game with a 17-5 run in the first 5:35, including 12 second-chance points. SJU responded, however, with a 15-0 run and led by as much as five (24-19) with 5:23 remaining in the first half.
UST started the second half with a 12-4 run and SJU went 6:03 without a point until junior
Mitchell Kuck (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) hit a three-pointer to cut the Johnnies' deficit to three, 64-61, with 3:10 left. The Tommies' Grant Shaeffer scored all nine of his points in the final 2:03 of the game and UST made its final seven free throws to seal the win.
Kuck finished with 10 points and five assists, while junior
Joe Risinger (Shorewood, Minn./Minnetonka) added 12 points and four rebounds.
Three Tommies registered a double-double, led by Ryan Saarela with 20 points and 13 rebounds, nine of which were on the offensive end. Conner Nord added 10 points and 12 rebounds, while Jimmy Remke tallied 16 points and 12 rebounds (seven offensive).
The Johnnies play host to No. 20 St. Olaf (5-1, 1-1 MIAC) for their fifth consecutive home game at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 10, in Sexton Arena.
