Box Score
COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – No. 6 Saint John's basketball clinched a share of the MIAC regular-season title, its first since 2001, with a 78-57 win over Carleton on Wednesday, Feb. 7, in Collegeville.
The win also clinched SJU's 11th 20-win season in the program's history and a top-two finish in the conference, which guarantees the Johnnies a first-round bye in the six-team MIAC Playoffs. SJU will host one of the two MIAC Playoff semifinal games at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 23.
SJU can claim the MIAC championship outright (and top seed in the MIAC Playoffs) with either a win or a St. Olaf loss in either of the regular season's final three games.
The Johnnies (20-2, 16-1 MIAC) shot 63.8 percent (30-for-47) from the field, including 68.4 percent (13-for-19) in the second half, and out-rebounded Carleton (12-10, 10-7 MIAC) by a 35-17 margin.
Senior guard
Patrick Strom (Fargo, N.D./Shanley) led SJU with 17 points, thanks to a 5-for-7 performance from three-point range. The Johnnies made 12 of their 18 long-range attempts (66.7 percent) in the victory.
Senior post
Tyler Weiss (Shakopee, Minn.) recorded his seventh double-double of the season and 17th of his career with 16 points and 10 rebounds. He also dished out a career-high seven assists. The 16 points enabled him to pass former teammate Mitchell Kuck '16 for 11th in school history with 1,288 career points. Weiss needs 14 points to tie another former teammate, Alex Schmitt '16, for 10th.
Junior guard
David Stokman (Maple Lake, Minn.) matched Weiss' 16 points on 6 of 8 shooting, including 4-for-5 from long range, in 25 minutes.
SJU broke open a two-point game (18-16) with a 25-6 run over the final 12:14 of the first half and the lead never dipped below 19 points the rest of the way.
Kent Hanson led all scorers with 25 points on 10 of 15 shooting for the Knights, who shot 40.4 percent (21-for-52) for the game. SJU held Kevin Grow, who entered the game averaging 18.1 points and 11.5 rebounds per game, to six points on 2 of 10 shooting and two boards in 25 minutes.
The Johnnies host Augsburg (17-6, 12-6 MIAC) for their Alumni/Senior Day at 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 10, in Sexton Arena.
