Box ScoreST. PAUL, Minn. – A late dry spell for Saint John's proved to be the difference in a 79-72 loss at third-ranked St. Thomas on Saturday, Jan. 24, in St. Paul.
The Johnnies (9-7, 7-4 MIAC) made only three of their final 14 shots, including a 4:18 span between made field goals, and UST scored a total of eight points off the visitors' final four turnovers.
SJU made eight of its first nine shots to start both halves and finished at 53.7 percent for the game, compared to 45.0 percent for St. Thomas (15-1, 10-1 MIAC), which posted a 32-27 advantage in rebounds (17-9 offensive). Ten of the 17 offensive rebounds for UST came in the second half.
Two quick fouls on juniors
Joe Risinger (Shorewood, Minn./Minnetonka) and
Alex Schmitt (Waconia, Minn.), two of the Johnnies' top three scorers, limited them both to eight minutes of playing time each in the first half. With the team looking for a spark, junior guard
Mitchell Kuck (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) answered the call and took over. Kuck hit three-pointers on three consecutive possessions for SJU and scored 20 of his 23 points in the final 7:11 of the first half.
SJU shot 59.3 percent (16-for-27) in the first half, including 8-for-11 (72.7 percent) from three-point range (7-for-9 by Kuck alone), to gain a 43-41 lead at the half.
A layup from senior post
Blake Maslonkowski (St. Joseph, Minn./St. Cloud Apollo) cut the Johnnies' deficit to three, 71-68, with 5:55 left but the Tommies went on a 7-2 run over the next 3:21 to essentially put the game away.
Kuck led all scorers with 28 points and added five rebounds, three assists and two steals. Risinger followed with 13 points and a trifecta of Maslonkowski, Schmitt and freshman post
Tyler Weiss (Shakopee, Minn.) collected eight points apiece.
Cortez Tillman led UST with 20 points off the bench. Taylor Montero and Marcus Alipate recorded 17 and 15 points respectively. The two combined for 22 points in the second half.
The Tommies held scoring advantages in both points off turnovers (14-9) and second-chance points (22-10).
The Johnnies return to the road for a 7:45 p.m. game at Concordia-Moorhead on Wednesday, Jan. 28.
