Box Score

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – No. 3 Saint John's basketball won its second consecutive MIAC Playoff championship with a resounding 82-63 victory over No. 2 St. Thomas on Saturday, Feb. 29, in Collegeville.

The playoff title is the seventh for SJU (25-2, 19-1 MIAC), which will make its third consecutive national tournament appearance and 20th overall next weekend at a site to be determined.

The NCAA selection show is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Monday, March 2, on www.ncaa.com.

The Johnnies shot 50 percent (12-for-24) from three-point range in the win, including a 9-for-15 (60 percent) showing in the first half.

Junior wing Oakley Baker (Geneva, Minn./New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva) drained four straight shots (3-for-3 from three-point) and scored the game's first 11 points for SJU, which led the entire game.



The Tommies (24-3, 19-1 MIAC) cut their deficit to four points, twice, in the first half but SJU answered with a trey on both occasions.

SJU scored the first five points of the second half, but UST responded with a 7-0 run to cut its deficit to 11 (46-35) with 17:34 to play. But that was the closest the Tommies would get, as the Johnnies shot 60 percent (15-for-25) in the second half to finish at 57.7 percent (30-for-52) for the game.

Senior wing Jubie Alade (Plymouth, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong) led all scorers with 28 points, on 10 of 14 shooting (4-for-6 from three-point). He also added five rebounds, three assists, one block and one steal.

Baker finished with 19 points, on a 7-for-11 night from the field (5-for-9 from three-point), and grabbed five rebounds.

Junior post Zach Hanson (New Prague, Minn.) was the other Johnnie in double figures with 12 points, all of which came in the second half. He played only nine minutes of the first half due to two fouls.

SJU out-rebounded the Tommies 36-22 and recorded a 10-2 advantage in second-chance points.

Anders Nelson led UST, which shot only 19 percent (4-for-21) from behind the arc, with 16 points. Elijah Hannah added 15 points and eight rebounds off the bench. 

Saturday's title game was a reversal of fortunes from the Johnnies' 71-66 loss to the Tommies on Feb. 15 in Collegeville. UST went 11-for-19 from behind the arc, while SJU made only four of its 19 long-range attempts. The Johnnies shot 65.5 percent (36-for-55) from the field in an 87-70 win at St. Thomas back on Jan. 11.

The Johnnies have now won six of their last eight meetings with the Tommies (three of the last four in Sexton Arena).