No. 19 Saint John's basketball plays host to Wisconsin-Superior for a 3 p.m. non-conference game on Saturday, Dec. 29, in Sexton Arena. –
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A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (7-1, 4-0 MIAC) extended its win streak to six games with an 87-70 victory at Saint Mary's back on Dec. 12 in Winona. SJU shot 59 percent (36-for-61) from the field and out-rebounded SMU 49-21. The Johnnies entered the game leading NCAA Division III in three-point percentage (.478) but made only two of their 15 long-range attempts to finish 34-for-45 inside the arc.
The Johnnies started slow, trailing the Cardinals 12-8 in the game's first 5:25 until junior post
Ethan Novacinski (St. Joseph, Minn./St. Cloud Apollo) sparked a 10-0 run with three consecutive baskets. SJU broke open a two-point lead (18-16) with a 28-14 run over the final 8:33 to take a 46-30 lead into the break.
Junior wing
Jubie Alade (Plymouth, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) totaled 18 points and three assists, while senior guard
David Stokman (Maple Lake, Minn.) added 14 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Junior post
Lucas Walford (Elko, Minn./New Prague) just missed his fourth double-double of the season with 11 points and nine boards. Sophomore post
Kyle Sorenson (Caledonia, Minn.) snared 10 rebounds off the bench.
A WINNING SHADE OF RED: SJU is now 88-21 against SMU since the 1964-65 season, including wins in each of the last 23 meetings overall.
SUPERNOVA: Novacinski led SJU with a career-high 29 points, on 13 of 15 shooting, off the bench in the Johnnies' 87-70 road win Dec. 12 at Saint Mary's. He also recorded seven rebounds and three assists in 29 minutes. His previous career high was 12 points, which he tied in last Saturday's (Dec. 8) 92-63 home win over Hamline.
NATIONAL RANKINGS: SJU stayed at No. 19 in the latest D3hoops.com Top 25 poll released Dec. 17. The Johnnies received 186 points in the poll and St. Thomas (40 points) was the only other MIAC school listed.
NATIONAL STATS: The Johnnies currently lead NCAA Division III, through games of Dec. 22, in three-point percentage (.444), are second in overall shooting percentage (.556) and third in rebound margin (+15.3 rpg.). Individually, Walford is fifth in shooting percentage (.714) and Stokman is sixth in three-point percentage (.521).
A LOOK AT THE YELLOWJACKETS: Wisconsin-Superior (2-9, 1-3 UMAC) snapped a nine-game losing skid Dec. 12 (67-64) at home against Northland (Wis.), but suffered a 58-53 loss its last time out (Dec. 15) at Martin Luther. Senior guard Montroy Scott leads UWS in both scoring (19.0 ppg.) and rebounding (8.3 rpg.). The Yellowjackets are shooting 42.2 percent from the field and average 16 turnovers per game.
A YEAR AGO: Then-No. 21 Saint John's returned from a 16-day hiatus and cruised to an 89-67 non-conference win over Wisconsin-Superior last Dec. 29 (2017) in Collegeville. All 18 student-athletes played for SJU, of which 14 scored a point. The home team shot 60.4 percent (32-for-53) from the field, recorded 28 assists on the 32 made field goals and was a perfect 12-for-12 from the free-throw line.
Guard
Patrick Strom '18 became SJU's all-time leader in three-pointers (181) on his third of the night with 11:48 to play. The school record was set by Larry Bassett '92 and stood for nearly 26 years.
Post
Tyler Weiss '18 led all scorers with 20 points on a perfect 8-for-8 showing from the floor in 21 minutes played. Alade added 14 points and a career-high five assists. He had 10 points and three assists in the game's first six minutes alone.
Colton Williams led four Yellowjackets in double figures with 17 points. UWS shot 40.7 percent (22-for-54) on the night. The visitors started 5-for-6 from three-point range but made only two of its final 15 attempts from downtown.
SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 9-6 against the Yellowjackets, including a 5-2 mark in Collegeville and wins in each of the last four meetings overall. Last year's game was the first between the two schools in Collegeville since Feb. 26, 1969 (a 90-73 SJU win in the Old Gym).
