No. 12 Saint John's basketball continues non-conference play with a trip to Minnesota-Morris at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 13. - Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats | Live Video

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (1-1 overall) went 1-1 last weekend at the season-opening Merrill Thompson Classic, hosted by Wisconsin-Superior.

No. 8 Nebraska Wesleyan 78, No. 12 Saint John's 56
SJU suffered a 78-56 loss to No. 8 Nebraska Wesleyan in the 2019-20 season opener for both teams last Friday (Nov. 8) in Superior, Wis.

SJU led 25-22 at halftime, but the Prairie Wolves opened the second half with a 23-5 run and shot 63.6 percent (21-for-33) from the field in the game's final 20 minutes. NWU shot 33.3 percent (8-for-24) in the first half.

Senior post Lucas Walford (Elko, Minn./New Prague) led SJU with 12 points and 14 rebounds, while junior wing Oakley Baker (Geneva, Minn./New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva) followed with nine points.

The Johnnies finished at 40.4 percent (23-for-57) from the floor, including 38.1 percent (8-for-21) from behind the arc.

NWU out-rebounded SJU 37-28, scored 22 points off 18 Johnnie turnovers. Jack Hiller (27 points) and Nate Schimonitz (26) combined for 53 of the team's points and a 19-for-32 showing from the field (7-for-11 from three-point range). Hiller was 6-for-7 from behind the arc, while Schimonitz added 10 rebounds, seven steals and six assists. Schimonitz was named the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) Division III Men's National Player of the Week for his weekend performance: 29 points, 8.5 rebounds, 6 steals and 4.5 steals per game while shooting 63 percent (24-for-38) from the field (9-for-10 from the free-throw line).

No. 12 Saint John's 71, Marian (Wis.) 43
The Johnnies bounced back from Friday's season-opening loss with a 71-43 win over Marian (Wis.) on Saturday (Nov. 9). SJU shot 43.5 percent (10-for-23) from three-point range and out-rebounded the Sabres by a 40-25 margin. 

SJU led by eight (34-26) at halftime and started the second half with a 9-0 run. Defensively, SJU held MU to just 25 percent (6-for-24) from the floor in the second half.

Walford posted his second straight double-double, a team-high 15 points and 14 rebounds, to lead the Johnnies. He also added four blocks.

Senior guard Sean Ryan (Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview) drilled all four of his three-point attempts and finished with a career-high 14 points, while freshman guard Colton Codute (Wayzata, Minn./Orono) added 10 points and six assists.

SJU totaled 14 points off 11 Marian turnovers, as well as 14 second-chance points (off 14 offensive rebounds).

DUB-DUB: Last weekend's double-doubles were the 16th and 17th of Walford's career. He was named the MIAC Men's Basketball Athlete of the Week, for the second time in his career, for his performance. The 17 double-doubles tie Walford for third-most in program history (since the 1983-84 season) with former teammate Tyler Weiss '18 and Craig Schafer '07. Paul Henrichs '06 totaled 30 double-doubles from 2002-06 and Aaron Burtzel '11 is second with 26.

A LOOK AT THE COUGARS: Minnesota-Morris (1-0 overall) opened its 2019-20 season with an 86-82 win last Friday (Nov. 8) at Concordia-Moorhead. The game featured 17 lead changes and the score was tied nine times. Neither team had a lead larger than seven points. The Cougars shot 42.6 percent (26-for-61) from the field, to the Cobbers' 50 percent (34-for-68), and committed 14 turnovers. The difference in the game was at the free-throw line, where UMM went 28-for-32 and CC was 6-for-11. Freshman forward Jaret Johnson led four Cougars in double figures with 18 points off the bench. Morris was picked sixth, in a tie with Northland (Wis.), in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference's preseason poll.

LAST YEAR: Saint John's rolled to a 95-54, non-conference win over Minnesota-Morris to open the 2018-19 season last Nov. 12 (2018) in Collegeville. SJU out-rebounded UMM 55-28, including a 19-8 advantage on the offensive glass, and the Johnnies turned the second chances into a 24-2 scoring margin on the scoreboard. The 55 rebounds were the most for SJU since it recorded 56 on Dec. 10, 1994, at Macalester (a 117-91 SJU win).

Guard David Stokman '19 led all scorers with 19 points, on 7-for-11 shooting (5-for-7 from three-point range), all of which were scored in the first half. He also collected five rebounds, five steals and four assists in 22 minutes. 

SJU broke open a 47-31 halftime lead with a 19-4 run to start the second half. Fourteen different Johnnies recorded a point in the victory.

Senior wing Jubie Alade (Plymouth, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) posted 14 points and seven rebounds, while junior wing Oakley Baker (Geneva, Minn./New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva) chipped in 11. Walford totaled 10 points and eight rebounds in 17 minutes.

Jeremy Halverson led the Cougars with 15 points. UMM shot 31.7 percent (19-for-60) from the field, including 24.2 percent (8-for-33) in the second half.

SERIES HISTORY: SJU is 22-10 all-time against UMM, including a 9-5 record in Morris. The Johnnies have won 11 of the last 12 meetings overall.