Lucas Walford goes up for a rebound between two Saint Mary's players
Junior post Lucas Walford (courtesy of Jennifer McNelly)
81
Saint John's Univ. SJU 15-4, 11-3 MIAC
85
Winner Bethel University BU 13-7, 10-5 MIAC
Saint John's Univ. SJU
15-4, 11-3 MIAC
81
Final
85
Bethel University BU
13-7, 10-5 MIAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Saint John's Univ. SJU 34 47 81
Bethel University BU 42 43 85

Game Recap: Basketball |

Late Rally Falls Short for No. 12 SJU at Bethel


Box Score

ARDEN HILLS, Minn. – No. 12 Saint John's suffered its third loss by four points or less in an 85-81 defeat at Bethel on Thursday, Jan. 31, in Arden Hills.

The game was originally scheduled for Jan. 30 but was postponed by the MIAC due to the extreme cold.

The Royals (13-7, 10-5 MIAC) never trailed and made their first four three-point attempts, finishing at 53.3 percent (16-for-30) from the floor in the first half, to take a 42-34 lead into the break. BU finished the game 20 percentage points higher (57.9 percent, 11-for-19) than its season average from three-point range (37.5 percent).

SJU (15-4, 11-3 MIAC) chipped its deficit, which was as large as 12 (58-46) with 15:05 remaining, down to two (83-81) with under a minute to play. Senior guard David Stokman's (Maple Lake, Minn.) game-winning attempt from behind the arc failed to go down, however.

Stokman led all scorers with 24 points, which nudged him ahead of Craig Muyres '64 for ninth on SJU's all-time scoring list with 1,348. He is now one point behind former teammate Tyler Weiss '18 in eighth.

Junior post Lucas Walford (Elko, Minn./New Prague) registered a colossal double-double with 21 points and a career-high 18 rebounds. The 18 boards are the most by a Johnnie since Aaron Burtzel '11 brought down 18 on Dec. 6, 2008, at Carleton.

Junior wing Jubie Alade (Plymouth, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) followed with 17 points, seven rebounds and three assists.

SJU shot 57.6 percent (19-for-33) in the second half to finish at 51.6 percent (32-for-62) from the field, but just 33.3 percent (9-for-27) from downtown. The Johnnies entered the game leading NCAA Division III in shooting percentage (.552), were second in three-point percentage (.423) and ninth in shooting percentage defense (.379). 

Matt Ambriz led BU with 22 points, thanks in large part to a perfect 6-for-6 showing from behind the arc, while Derek Magnuson followed with 21 points.

The Royals shot 51.9 percent (28-for-54) for the game and went to the free-throw line 15 times more than SJU (18-for-25 vs. 8-for-10).

The Johnnies return home to host Macalester (4-16, 1-14 MIAC) at 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 2, in Sexton Arena.




 
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