*the host school updated the statistics after the original recap was posted Friday night

Box Score    

SUPERIOR, Wis. – Saint John's basketball started its 2021-22 season with an 85-67 win over Wisconsin-River Falls in the first game of Wisconsin-Superior's Merrill Thompson Classic on Friday, Nov. 5.

The Johnnies will face the host Yellowjackets at 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 6. UWS defeated Finlandia (Mich.) 97-52 in Friday's nightcap.

SJU shot 59.6 percent (34-for-57) from the field, including 62.1 percent (18-for-29) in the second half, and 47.6 percent (10-for-21) from three-point range.

Senior guard Colton Codute (Wayzata, Minn./Orono) and sophomore wing Ryan Thissen (Rosemount, Minn./Eastview) led all scorers with 19 points apiece. Codute scored 14 of the Johnnies' first 19 points and finished 5-for-8 from behind the arc with six rebounds and six assists.

Senior post Zach Hanson (New Prague, Minn.) was the other Johnnie in double figures with 14. Hanson was 7-for-10 from the floor and grabbed six rebounds. 

SJU controlled the paint against UWRF with statistical advantages in both scoring (38-16) and rebounds (40-21). Eleven Johnnies scored a point, including four new Johnnies: sophomore guard Jared Rainey (7 points; Maple Grove, Minn.), freshman guard Kooper Vaughn (6; St. Charles, Minn.), freshman guard Andrew Wagner (2; Prospect Heights, Ill./Hersey) and sophomore post Ethan Youso (2; Gilbert, Minn./Virginia).