Box ScoreCOLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Saint John's went 27-for-30 at the free-throw line, including 22-for-23 in the second half, to earn a 91-82 win over Hamline on Wednesday, Jan. 27, in Collegeville.
SJU (14-4, 9-4 MIAC) led by seven (43-36) at the break and by as much as 19 (69-50) with 12:02 remaining. The lead dwindled to 13 (79-66) with 6:45 remaining before the Pipers (4-13, 2-10 MIAC) went on a 13-6 run to cut their deficit to six (85-79) with 3:07 to play.
The Johnnies went 6-for-6 from the charity stripe and HU made only one of its final seven shot attempts the rest of the way. The win was SJU's 10th consecutive over the Pipers in Sexton Arena.
Senior guard
Mitchell Kuck (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) led SJU with 24 points, including 22 in the first half, and added five assists. The 24-point performance enabled him to leap-frog classmate
Alex Schmitt (Waconia, Minn.) to 15th on SJU's all-time scoring list with 1,137 career points. Schmitt tallied 12 points and five assists, and is now 16th, one point behind Kuck with 1,136.
Sophomore post
Tyler Weiss (Shakopee, Minn.) fell one rebound shy of a double-double for the third time this season with 17 points, nine boards and three assists.
Senior wing
Joe Risinger (Shorewood, Minn./Minnetonka) added 13 points and four assists for SJU, which out-rebounded the Pipers 40-34 and recorded a 36-18 scoring advantage in the paint.
Zach Smith (11.3 ppg.) and Connor Knutson (11.2 ppg.) combined to shoot 55.6 percent (15-for-27) from the floor and doubled their season averages with 25 and 24 points, respectively, to lead Hamline. The rest of the team shot 35.3 percent (12-for-34) from the field.
The Johnnies travel to face Bethel (12-5, 7-5 MIAC) for a 3 p.m. game this Saturday, Jan. 30, in Arden Hills.
