Box Score
Box Score | Listen to Archived Game
Post-Game Interviews:
-Kuck, McKenzie, Risinger & Coach Smith (2:42)
COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Saint John's shot 60.7 percent (17-for-28) in the second half of an 83-71 home win over Augsburg, the Johnnies' sixth in their last seven games, on Wednesday, Feb. 5, in Collegeville.
SJU (11-9, 9-6 MIAC) made only seven of its first 21 shot attempts to find itself down eight, 24-16, with 8:51 left in the first half, only to go 9-for-13 from the field to take a one-point lead (36-35) into the break. Seven of the 14 misses during the initial drought to start the game were in the paint.
The Auggies (13-7, 9-6 MIAC) started the second half with a 12-6 run to gain a five-point lead, 47-42, their last of the game. Senior Seth Marx (Maple Grove, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret's) made two free throws and a layup from junior Blake Maslonkowski (St. Joseph, Minn./St. Cloud Apollo) cut the Johnnies' deficit to one before sophomore Joe Risinger (Shorewood, Minn./Minnetonka) ignited the crowd with a driving dunk on Augsburg's 6-foot-9 post, Dan Kornbaum. The momentum swing extended the 6-0 run into a 23-6 stretch to give SJU a 65-53 lead with 5:33 remaining. The Johnnies led by as much as 17, and as little as 11, the rest of the way to snap a four-game losing streak to the Auggies.
Sophomore Mitchell Kuck (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) led five Johnnies in double figures with 16 points off the bench. Senior Kevin McKenzie (De Pere, Wis./Notre Dame Academy) followed with a career-high 15 points, while Marx added 14 points and seven rebounds. Maslonkowski chipped in 12 points, on 6-for-8 shooting, six boards and three steals.
The stat line of the night belonged to Risinger, who finished with 12 points on a perfect 5-for-5 night with five rebounds, four blocks and two steals.
Kornbaum led all scorers with 29 points (12-for-17 shooting) and collected nine rebounds. The rest of the team shot 35.1 percent (13-for-37) from the floor, including 27.3 percent (3-for-11) from three-point range.
The Johnnies out-rebounded Augsburg 34-30, 10-8 on the offensive glass, and held scoring advantages in all three specialty categories: in the paint (50-34), off turnovers (22-13) and second-chance (10-3).
SJU plays host to second-place St. Olaf (16-4, 13-2 MIAC), winners of its last nine (12 of its last 13), for a 3 p.m. game on Saturday, Feb. 8, in Sexton Arena. The Johnnies are 61-29 all-time against the Oles under the direction of head coach Jim Smith, including a 38-7 record in Collegeville.
