Box ScoreCOLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Saint John's erased a 10-point deficit with a 25-2 run in the second half to earn an 81-68 win over Saint Mary's on Saturday, Jan. 2, in Collegeville.
Senior guard
Alex Schmitt (Waconia, Minn.) led all scorers with 23 points, his fifth 20-point game of the season and 16th of his career, to become the 34th Johnnie in school history to reach 1,000 career points.
Fueled by three-pointers from sophomore guard
Patrick Strom (Fargo, N.D./Shanley) on three consecutive possessions, SJU (9-1, 4-1 MIAC) gained an eight-point lead (28-20) with 5:28 left in the first half. That is, until the Cardinals (4-5, 2-3 MIAC) made seven of their last eight shots to end the half on a 22-6 run and take a 42-34 lead into the break. SMU shot 58.3 percent (14-for-24) in the first 20 minutes of play.
The tide turned in the second half, however, as SJU held SMU to 29 percent from the floor (9-for-31). The Johnnies shot 52.8 percent (28-for-53), including an even 50 percent (8-for-16) from behind the arc, and scored 32 points off 21 turnovers in the game. The 32 points off miscues are the most for SJU since it scored 32 (off 17 turnovers) in the 81-63 home win over Macalester on Feb. 1, 2010.
Sophomore post
Tyler Weiss (Shakopee, Minn.) collected 15 points and eight rebounds, in which all but four points were recorded in the second half.
Strom finished with 12 points, on a 4-for-6 showing from three-point range, while senior guard
Mitchell Kuck (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) ended with 11 points. Kuck needs four points at Macalester on Wednesday, Jan. 6, to reach 1,000 for his career. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. in St. Paul.
Connor Kaiser led the Cardinals with 20 points, but committed six turnovers.
The Johnnies have now won 48 of the last 56 meetings with SMU, including each of the last 17. SJU has won 46 consecutive home games in the series and is 42-0 in the Warner Palaestra.
