No. 4 Saint John's basketball opens a three-game homestand at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 15, against Saint Mary's in Sexton Arena. - Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats/Live Video

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (12-1, 8-0 MIAC) extended its win streak to 12 games with a convincing 87-70 win at then-No. 5 St. Thomas last Saturday (Jan. 11) in St. Paul. The Johnnies shot 65.5 percent (36-for-55) from the field and dominated in the paint, out-scoring the Tommies 60-34 near the hoop and posting a 35-23 advantage in rebounds.

Junior post Zach Hanson (New Prague, Minn.) led all scorers with 20 points (9-for-12 shooting), while senior wing Jubie Alade (Plymouth, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) followed with 18 points (8-for-11 shooting) in 21 minutes.

SJU made seven of its first eight shots (2-for-2 from three-point) to build a quick 10-point lead (16-6) and led by 16 (43-27) at halftime thanks to a 61.3-percent showing (19-for-31) from the floor. Alade was whistled for two fouls in the game's first 2:29, which brought in senior guard Sean Ryan (Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview). Ryan rose to the occasion, as he finished with 14 points on 5 of 6 shooting (2-for-3 from behind the arc) and three rebounds in 28 minutes off the bench.

The Johnnies started the second half by making six of their first eight shots and led by as much as 23 (66-43).

Senior post Lucas Walford (Elko, Minn./New Prague) registered his eighth double-double of the season and 23rd of his career with 16 points and 12 rebounds, and blocked three shots.

Sophomore guard Colton Codute (Wayzata, Minn./Orono) was the fifth Johnnie in double figures with 10 points, six rebounds and four assists.

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Hanson earned MIAC Men's Basketball Athlete of the Week honors after he shot 82.4 percent (14-for-17) from the field and 81.8 percent (9-for-11) from the free-throw line, while averaging 18.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists in the Johnnies' pair of road wins. In addition to his performance at St. Thomas, Hanson made all five of his shot attempts for 17 points and added four rebounds in 26 minutes of SJU's 91-75 win Jan. 6 at St. Olaf. 

The two-game stretch enabled Hanson, who is a career 59.8-percent shooter, to break out of a three-game slump in which he was 10-for-32 (31.3 percent) from the floor. He is currently second on the team in rebounding (5.0 rpg.) and third in scoring (12.2 ppg.).

NATIONAL RANKINGS: SJU climbed three spots to No. 4 in the most recent D3hoops.com Top 25 poll released yesterday (Jan. 13). The Johnnies gained 114 points in the poll, up to 543 from 429 in the last rankings posted Jan. 6. St. Thomas (11-2, 7-1 MIAC) fell to No. 9 and Augsburg (10-3, 6-2 MIAC) received votes. The Johnnies went 2-0 last week on the road, including a convincing 87-70 win Jan. 11 at then-No. 5 UST. The ranking is the highest for SJU since it was No. 3 for two weeks in February 2018.

UP TO NO. 22: The 18 points last Saturday enabled Alade to climb past Joe Deignan '95 and Matt Ohme '07 into 22nd on SJU's all-time scoring list with 1,126 career points. John Eisenschenk '81 is next with 1,129 career points, while Josh Cherry '96 (1,131) and Darrick Buettner '91 (1,136) are within striking distance at 20th and 19th, respectively.

NABC TEAM OF THE WEEK: The Johnnies' two-game performance last week garnered Division III Team of the Week (for games played Jan. 6-12) honors by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) on Tuesday (Jan. 14).

CLOSING IN ON 30: The 2019-20 season is the Johnnies' 47th in Warner Palaestra since 1973-74. SJU flaunts a 426-143 (.749) home record during that span, including a 57-12 mark over the last five seasons. The Johnnies have won 29 consecutive home regular-season contests since late in the 2016-17 campaign. 

IN THE MIAC: SJU holds the statistical edge over Saint Mary's in a variety of statistical categories in conference play.

Scoring Offense
3. SJU, 78.8 ppg.
7. SMU, 71.9 ppg.

Scoring Defense
1. SJU, 60.1 ppg.
7. SMU, 84.0 ppg.

Shooting Percentage
1. SJU, .498
3. SMU, .447

Three-Point Percentage
4. SJU, .377
8. SMU, .362

Free-Throw Percentage
3. SJU, .747
10. SMU, .633

Rebounding
1. SJU, 39.1 rpg.
5. SMU, 34.0 rpg.

A LOOK AT THE CARDINALS: Saint Mary's (7-6, 4-4 MIAC) snapped a five-game losing streak with an 87-73 win last Saturday (Jan. 11) at Hamline. Five Cardinals finished in double figures, led by a 21-point performance from junior (6-foot-5) guard Sawyer Rosner. SMU trailed 39-37 at halftime, but out-scored the Pipers 50-34 in the second half. Junior (6-foot-7) forward Eli Cave leads the team in scoring (18.9 ppg.), assists (46), blocks (15), steals (27) and turnovers (42), and is second in rebounding (5.3 rpg.).

BACK IN NOVEMBER: SJU overcame a frigid shooting night with a 37-for-44 showing from the free-throw line in a 77-63 win at Saint Mary's back on Nov. 26 in Winona. The Johnnies shot 36.2 percent (17-for-47) from the field, but made up for it by shooting 84.1 percent from the charity stripe. SMU committed 31 fouls, including 22 in the second half as SJU went 30 of 35 from the free-throw line after intermission. 

The Cardinals trailed SJU by three (27-24) and tied the game at 33-33 with 16:01 to play, but the Johnnies responded with an 18-4 run and led by nine points or more for the remainder of the game for their 25th consecutive win in the series.

Alade led SJU with 21 points, his third consecutive 20-point game, thanks to an 11-for-13 showing at the line. Hanson followed with 19 points, 15 of which came in the second half. Walford posted his fourth double-double in five games to start the season with 10 points and a career-high 19 rebounds. Cave led all scorers with 23 points for SMU before he was ejected from the game following his second technical foul with 2:26 remaining.

SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 90-21 against the Cardinals since the 1964-65 season, including a 54-1 record in Collegeville. SJU has won each of the last 25 meetings overall and 51 straight at home (47-0 in the Warner Palaestra). The last time Saint Mary's defeated SJU in Collegeville was in 1968, when the Johnnies played in the Old Gym (Guild Hall).