Saint John's basketball hits the road for a 7:45 p.m. game tonight at Concordia-Moorhead. – Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats | Live Video

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (9-7, 7-4 MIAC) looks to bounce back after a tough 79-72 loss at rival St. Thomas last Saturday (Jan. 24). A late dry spell proved to be the difference as the Johnnies made only three of their final 14 shots, including a 4:18 span between made field goals, and then-No. 3 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, which posted a 32-27 advantage in rebounds (17-9 offensive). Ten of the 17 offensive rebounds for UST came in the second 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. Junior guard Mitchell Kuck (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) 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.

(KUCKY) MONSTER WEEK: Kuck averaged 21 points, 3.3 rebounds and three assists (to zero turnovers) as SJU went 2-1 last week. He shot 57.9 percent (22-for-38) from the field, including a 12-for-21 (57.1 percent) performance from three-point range, to earn his first MIAC Men's Basketball Athlete of the Week honor. He started the week with a 27-point game, thanks to a 10-for-12 night from the floor (4-for-6 from three-point), in the Johnnies' 92-75 win over Augsburg Jan. 19. Kuck then scored eight points, in only 22 minutes, in SJU's 72-41 win over Macalester Jan. 21. He was the third starter to leave the game for good with 12:57 remaining. 

Kuck saved his best for last in the loss at St. Thomas on Saturday. With two of the Johnnies' top three scorers (juniors Joe Risinger and Alex Schmitt) on the bench early due to two fouls, Kuck stepped up and hit three-pointers on three consecutive possessions and scored 20 of his 23 first-half points in the final 7:11 before halftime as SJU took a 43-41 lead into the break. He went 7-for-9 from three-point range in the first half, the bulk of which occurred with three freshmen on the court for SJU. Overall, he led all scorers with 28 points, while adding five rebounds, three assists and two steals. 

MIAC LEADER: Kuck currently leads the MIAC (conference games only) in both steals (22) and assist/turnover ratio (+4.4), among those with 25 assists or more. When all games are considered, Kuck is tied for second with teammate Patrick Strom in three-pointers made (34) and is fourth in scoring (16.2 ppg.).

GREAT WEEK OVERALL: Despite the loss at St. Thomas, SJU averaged 78.7 points per game and shot 55.6 percent (94-for-169) from the field, including 54.2 percent (26-for-48) from behind the arc, on the week. Five Johnnies shot over 60 percent for the week, including junior guard Alex Schmitt (Waconia, Minn.) at 82.4 percent (14-for-17). 

THREE-BALL: SJU is currently third in all of NCAA Division III (408 teams) in three-point shooting percentage at 43.0 percent (120-for-279). The Tommies are first at 45.3 percent (110-for-243), while St. Olaf is fifth at 42.6 percent (89-for-209). SJU leads the MIAC with an average of 7.5 three-pointers made per game (7.6 per MIAC game).

ONE WIN FROM LUTE, 15TH ALL-TIME: SJU head coach Jim Smith (779-553 career record) is one win away from tying Augsburg graduate and former Iowa (1975-83) and Arizona (1984-2007) head coach Lute Olson for 15th on college basketball's all-time wins list.

A LOOK AT THE COBBERS: Concordia (10-6, 6-5 MIAC) posted its second straight win, 74-59 at home against Hamline on Saturday. Tonight's contest is the Cobbers' fourth of five consecutive home games. Junior forward Jordan Bolger had quite the game against the Pipers with 28 points on 10 of 14 shooting, while adding eight rebounds and three steals. He leads the team in scoring (14.6 ppg.) and rebounding (7.8 rpg.), two averages that are a tad higher in conference play (15.7 points and 8.6 rebounds per contest). Senior Brandon Giese is close behind at 9.9 points per game and is CC's top three-point shooter with 31 (31-for-85), though junior guard Brett Bergeson is tops at 54.3 percent from downtown (25-for-46).

EARLIER THIS SEASON: SJU surrendered a 15-point lead but made 17 of its 19 free throws in the second half, including each of the last nine, to defeat Concordia 79-76 in the MIAC opener earlier this season on Dec. 3 in Sexton Arena. The Johnnies led by as much as 15 (39-24) early in the second half and by 13 (48-35) with 15:04 remaining, but Concordia cut its deficit to four with a 13-4 run at the 11:47 mark. SJU battled back to gain a 10-point lead (64-54) with 6:56 left before the Cobbers gained their first lead since the 11:33 mark of the first half thanks to a 15-4 run. Schmitt made sure the CC lead was short-lived, however, with a traditional three-point play for SJU on the ensuing possession. He led all scorers with 22 points and made all nine of his free-throw attempts, including six in the final 1:39 of the game. A layup from Bolger tied the game at 71 just inside the two-minute mark, but a foul on the other end, and two free throws from Schmitt, gave the lead back to SJU. 

The Johnnies capitalized on a Bolger turnover, barely, thanks to an offensive rebound from Maslonkowski and foul on the put-back with 1:03 remaining. Maslonkowski extended the lead to four with a pair of free throws, but Bolger came through again on the other end and cut the Cobbers' deficit in half. Schmitt rattled a three-pointer around the rim and out, giving Concordia a chance to either tie or take the lead with 14 seconds left. Brett Bergeson, however, stepped on the baseline for CC's 16th turnover of the night. SJU turned those 16 turnovers into 23 points. Schmitt was fouled on the in-bounds pass and made both free throws to make it 77-73 with six ticks left on the clock. Bolger made things interesting with a deep three-pointer, but Schmitt again made both free throws. Tom Fraase's game-tying three-pointer hit the back iron and bounced out at the buzzer.

SJU, which made only two of its first 14 shot attempts to start the game, shot 88 percent (22-for-25) from the charity stripe and finished at 45.6 percent (26-for-57) from the field. Brandon Giese led the Cobbers with 16 points and six assists, while Bolger added 15 points, including 13 in the second half. Concordia went 6-for-12 from behind the arc and shot 66.7 percent (20-for-30) from the field in the game's final 20 minutes.
 
SERIES HISTORY: SJU is 71-33 all-time against the Cobbers under the direction of Smith, but is 25-27 at Memorial Auditorium in Moorhead. The Johnnies have lost each of their last seven meetings on the Cobbers' home floor and nine of the last 11.

IT'S COLD IN MEMORIAL AUDITORIUM: SJU combined to shoot 38.9 percent from the field during the seven-game losing streak in Moorhead, including 32.5 percent (38-for-117) from three-point range.