Box Score

ARDEN HILLS, Minn. – No. 4 Saint John's basketball won a share of the MIAC regular-season championship with a 73-66 win at Bethel on Saturday, Feb. 22, in Arden Hills.

The title is the Johnnies' ninth in program history and second in the last three seasons.

No. 3 St. Thomas erased a 19-point deficit (with 10:06 to play) and scored a bucket with two seconds remaining to top Saint Mary's 74-72 and create a tie with the Johnnies (23-2, 19-1 MIAC) for the title. SJU, however, won the coin flip made by MIAC commissioner Dan McKane (via video) following today's games and will be the No. 1 seed in next week's six-team conference tournament.

The Johnnies host an opponent, yet to be determined, in the MIAC Playoff semifinals at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 27, in Sexton Arena. Admission is $10 for adult and $2 for any student (5 years old and younger are free). There is no senior discount. MIAC passes will be honored, though no other passes will be accepted. 

SJU shot 60.7 percent (17-for-28) from the field in the second half, including 60 percent (3-for-5) from three-point range. Two of the three made treys came at the right time with under two minutes to play.

Down 64-63, junior wing Oakley Baker (Geneva, Minn./New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva) made a driving layup to put the Johnnies ahead with 2:03 to remaining and sophomore guard Colton Codute (Wayzata, Minn./Orono) took advantage of a BU turnover with a three-pointer on the next possession to make it 68-64. Codute finished with 17 points, 15 of which came in the second half.

Isaiah Carver-Bagley answered with a layup on the other end for BU (16-9, 13-7 MIAC), what proved to be the Royals' final points of the game, but Baker drilled a three-pointer to give SJU a 5-point lead (71-66) with 30 seconds left. Baker is now 10th on the Johnnies' all-time list with 138 career treys.

The Royals committed an offensive foul on the ensuing possession and missed their final two shots of the afternoon. SJU, meanwhile, went 2-for-4 at the free-throw line to seal the victory.

The Johnnies shot only 31 percent (9-for-29) and committed seven turnovers in the first half, but led 26-25 thanks to a 7-0 run into halftime. SJU finished at 45.6 percent (26-for-57) for the game.

Junior post Zach Hanson (New Prague, Minn.) led all scorers with 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for his third double-double of the season and fourth of his career. He made only two of his nine shots in the paint in the first half, but the change to the other end of the court proved beneficial in the second half as he went 6-for-8 from the field, including eight of the Johnnies' first 10 points after the break.

Senior wing Jubie Alade (Plymouth, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) scored 12 points, which moved him into a tie with Craig Muyres '64 for 10th in school history with 1,344.

Senior post Lucas Walford (Elko, Minn./New Prague) just missed a double-double with 10 points and nine boards (five offensive).

Jack Jenson led BU with 14 points, while Carver-Bagley and Chandler Wellman added 13 points apiece.

SJU out-rebounded the Royals 29-23, including a 10-4 advantage on the offensive glass.