Box Score
COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Saint John's basketball shot 69.4 percent (34-for-49) from the field, including a scalding 76.2 percent (16-for-21) in the second half, in a 90-55, MIAC-opening win over Bethel on Wednesday, Nov. 28, in Collegeville.
Bethel's bus suffered a flat tire near Rogers, which delayed the game 40 minutes.
The Johnnies (4-1, 1-0 MIAC), believe it or not, made only three of their first nine shot attempts in the game's first five minutes (and finished 31 of 40, 77.5 percent, the rest of the way).
SJU led by as much as 41 (73-32 with 10:09 remaining), went 10 of 14 (71.4 percent) from behind the arc and out-rebounded the Royals (2-3, 0-1 MIAC) by a 40-20 margin.
Junior wing
Jubie Alade (Plymouth, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) led five Johnnies in double figures with 14 points in 20 minutes of play.
Junior post
Lucas Walford (Elko, Minn./New Prague) recorded his second consecutive double-double, and sixth of his career, with 13 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks.
Sophomore post
Kyle Sorenson (Caledonia, Minn.) drained three treys and scored 13 points off the bench, while junior post
Ethan Novacinski (St. Joseph, Minn./St. Cloud Apollo) added 12. Both were a perfect 5-for-5 from the floor.
Sophomore wing
Oakley Baker (Geneva, Minn./New Richland-Heartland-Ellendale-Geneva) chipped in 11 points.
Senior guard
David Stokman (Maple Lake, Minn.) filled the stat sheet with seven points, five assists and four rebounds. He passed John Eisenschenk '81 and moved into a tie with Josh Cherry '96 for 19th on SJU's all-time scoring list with 1,131 career points.
Matt Ambriz and Granger Kingland led BU, which shot 32.3 percent (20-for-62) from the field, with 12 points apiece. The Royals' leading scorer (19.0 ppg.) and rebounder (9.0 rpg.), senior post Derek Magnuson, did not play.
SJU is now 33-13 in its MIAC opener since the Warner Palaestra opened (1973-74), including a 24-2 record in Sexton Arena (11-1 in the last 12 openers). The victory was the Johnnies' 10th consecutive over the Royals in Collegeville.
The Johnnies travel to face Gustavus Adolphus for a 3 p.m. game Saturday, Dec. 1, in St. Peter.
