Box ScoreCOLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Saint John's basketball earned its first conference win with a 72-68 victory over St. Olaf in its home opener on Saturday, Dec. 5, in Collegeville.
Senior guard
Mitchell Kuck (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial), the reigning MIAC Men's Basketball Athlete of the Week, led all scorers with 28 points, including 17 in the second half alone, to lead SJU (5-1, 1-1 MIAC).
The Johnnies shot 63 percent (17-for-27) from the field in the first half and led by as much as 13 late in the opening stanza, but the Oles' Austin Majeskie hit a shot in the paint at the horn to cut SJU's lead to 42-31 at the break.
SJU made only six of its 19 shot attempts (31.6 percent) in the second half, of which four (4-for-8) were from three-point range. Kuck accounted for four (4-for-5) of the six made field goals, including three (3-for-4) of the four treys. He hit a pair of three-pointers with less than four minutes to play. Kuck also went 6-for-7 from the free-throw line in the second half and chipped in five assists and four steals in the contest.
A three-pointer from Riley Aeikens cut SJU's lead to two (70-68) with 41 seconds remaining, but Justin Pahl's attempt at a game-winning three bounced off the rim with two seconds left. Senior guard
Alex Schmitt (Waconia, Minn.) was fouled after the defensive rebound and drained two free throws to seal the win.
Sophomore post
Tyler Weiss (Shakopee, Minn.) fell one rebound shy of a double-double with 13 points and nine boards. Schmitt added 11 points and five assists despite going 0-for-7 from the floor in the second half.
Aeikens led the Oles (2-3, 1-1 MIAC) with 22 points. Ben Figini added 17 points before fouling out with 6:41 left. St. Olaf reached the NCAA Division III tournament's Sweet 16 last year and received votes in this week's D3hoops.com national poll.
The Johnnies make a brief return to non-conference play with a 7 p.m. game on Monday, Dec. 7, at Minnesota-Morris.
