The Johnnie basketball team plays host to second-place St. Olaf for a 3 p.m. game on Saturday, Feb. 8, in Sexton Arena. – Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM, via Real Audio Player) | Live Stats | Live Video
A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (11-9, 9-6 MIAC) 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, Wednesday night (Feb. 5) in Collegeville. SJU 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. The Auggies 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. 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).
WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH 20 MINUTES?: The upward trend continued for Kuck as he led the Johnnies in scoring for the third consecutive game Wednesday night against Augsburg. He is averaging 16 points and 3.3 rebounds in 21.7 minutes per game, while shooting 59.4 percent (19-for-32) from the field, in his last three contests. He totaled 16 points and four rebounds in his previous four games since returning to action after breaking his foot during practice following the Nov. 17 win against St. Scholastica. Kuck averaged 15 points, four rebounds and four assists through the season's first two games before the injury.
TURNOVER FRENZY: The Johnnies have turned up the defensive heat so far in 2014, forcing 169 turnovers (14.1 tpg.) and turning the extra possessions into a total of 210 points (17.5 ppg.) in 12 games since the first of the year. SJU has forced 10 or more turnovers in eight of its last nine games (6-3 record). On the flip side, SJU is averaging 10.3 turnovers per game and allowing 10.9 points per game off of the miscues since Jan. 1.
BALANCED ATTACK ON CUE vs. AUGSBURG: McKenzie became the ninth Johnnie to score 15 points or more in a game this season in the win over Augsburg Wednesday night. To top it off, all nine Johnnies that played in the victory scored a point.
HOME-COURT ADVANTAGE: SJU is a combined 21-7 (.750) in MIAC games at home the last three seasons, including a 13-2 mark in its last 15 games.
A LOOK AT THE OLES: St. Olaf (16-4, 13-2 MIAC) clinched an MIAC-playoff berth with its ninth straight win, and 12th in its last 13 games, with a 68-57 decision at Concordia-Moorhead Wednesday (Feb. 5) night. Senior Connor Gunderson scored his 1,000th-career point as a part of a game-high 18 points for the Oles. He leads the team in shooting percentage (.659), scoring (15.3 ppg.) and rebounding (5.2 rpg.). As a team, STO is third in the MIAC (all games) with a .494 shooting percentage, .002 ahead of SJU, and lead the league in turnovers per game at 9.4 (8.5 in MIAC games).
EARLIER THIS SEASON IN NORTHFIELD: St. Olaf shot 60.4 percent from the field and 24-for-27 from the free-throw line in a 94-89 win over Saint John's earlier this season on Jan. 11 in Northfield. SJU survived a wild finish to the first half and entered intermission with a 40-37 lead. Neither team missed a field goal in the final 4:39 of the opening half. The Johnnies tied the back-and-forth contest at 82-82 with 3:21 remaining, but the Oles out-scored the visitors 12-7 the rest of the way. Sophomore Alex Schmitt (Chaska, Minn./Waconia) led the Johnnies with 20 points off the bench and senior Patrick Butcher (Louisville, Ky./St. Xavier) added 17 before fouling out. SJU was whistled for 20 fouls to the Oles' 13 in the contest. Maslonkowski ended the day one rebound shy of a double-double with 15 points and nine boards, while Marx totaled 14 points on 4-for-7 shooting from three-point range in 20 minutes, his first extensive game of the season. Gunderson led all scorers with 23 points and collected nine rebounds, while Sterling Nielsen tallied 22 points and five assists. The score was tied 11 times in the game and there were 17 total lead changes. SJU, which shot 57.9 percent from the field (54.5 percent from beyond the arc), registered 15 points off six STO turnovers in the game.
SERIES HISTORY: 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. STO, however, has won three of the last five meetings in Sexton Arena.
