No. 4 Saint John's plays host to Gustavus Adolphus for a 2 p.m. conference game on Sunday, Feb. 21, in Sexton Arena. – Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats/Live Video 

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (2-0, 1-0 MIAC) opened conference play with a 79-75 win over Hamline back on Feb. 6 in St. Paul, ending the game on a 14-4 run to secure the victory. 

Down six (71-65) with 5:31 remaining, SJU made three of its final four shot attempts - all three-pointers - and went 5-for-7 from the free-throw line. Defensively, however, is where the Johnnies earned the win in the closing minutes as Hamline made just one of its final seven shots (0-for-4 from three-point range) and committed three turnovers.

Senior post Zach Hanson (New Prague, Minn.) led all scorers with 27 points, on 12-of-16 shooting, and grabbed 12 rebounds for his sixth career double-double. His first collegiate double-double was a 21-point, 12-rebound performance on Jan. 26, 2019, at Hamline.

Senior wing Oakley Baker (Geneva, Minn./New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva) set career marks for points (24) and made three-pointers (seven), while collecting five rebounds and five assists in the victory.

Baker brought SJU to within one (71-70) on his seventh trey of the afternoon with 4:26 left and junior guard Colton Codute (Wayzata, Minn./Orono), the reigning MIAC Men's Basketball Athlete of the Week, put the visitors ahead 73-71 with a three-pointer of his own from the top of the key at the 3-minute mark.

The Pipers, however, tied the game on a pair of free throws from Luke Siwek and took the lead, 75-73, on a jumper from Jake Larson with 1:25 remaining.

Sophomore post Mitchell Plombon (St. Cloud, Minn./Cathedral) put SJU back in front for good with a three-pointer on the ensuing possession. Siwek was then called for a charge on the other end of the court and Plombon made one of his two shots from the charity stripe with 35 seconds left. Plombon finished with a career-high 13 points.

Down two, Hamline snagged two offensive rebounds, but Jake Larson lost the ball out of bounds with three ticks left on the clock. Baker was fouled on the in-bounds play and made both of his free throws to end the game's scoring.

SJU finished at 58.3 percent (28-for-48) from the field, including 52.2 percent (12-for-23) from behind the arc. Both stats were far cries from the game's first 6.5 minutes, as the Johnnies started 0-for-7 from the floor (0-for-3 from three-point) with three turnovers.

The Johnnies bounced back from the frigid start to go 13-for-17 from the field (6-for-9 from three-point) and led 33-31 at halftime. 

BIG-MAN ENDURANCE: Hanson played a team-high 39 minutes against Hamline, which were the most minutes in regulation by an SJU post since Tyler Weiss '18 played 39 minutes on Feb. 8, 2017, against Augsburg. Weiss also recorded 39 minutes vs. St. Thomas that same season, 11 days earlier (Jan. 28).  

The last Johnnie post to play 39 minutes or more was Lucas Walford '20 in overtime on Jan. 21, 2019, at St. Thomas.

Most Minutes by an SJU Post (most recent first)
39: Hanson on Feb. 6, 2021 at Hamline (79-75 win)
39: Lucas Walford '20 on Jan. 21, 2019 at St. Thomas (74-72 overtime loss)
42: Tyler Weiss '18 on Jan. 27, 2018 at Bethel (84-80 overtime win)
39: Tyler Weiss '18 on Feb. 13, 2017 at Macalester (100-97 overtime loss)
39: Tyler Weiss '18 on Feb. 8, 2017 vs. Augsburg (82-76 loss)
39: Tyler Weiss '18 on Jan. 28, 2017 vs. St. Thomas (74-65 loss) 
 
BAKER, THE CAREER-HIGH MAKER: Baker set career highs for both points (24) and made three-pointers (7) against Hamline. He shot a stellar 63.6 percent (7-for-11) from behind the arc and went 3-3 from the free-throw line, including two key three throws at the end of the game. Amidst a slow start for SJU, Baker scored the first seven points for SJU on a technical free-throw, followed by two three-pointers. Baker's previous career high for points was 21, when he went 6-for-7 from three-point range on Jan. 4, 2020, against Augsburg.
 
ONE BEHIND BURNS: Baker now has 159 career three-pointers, which are one shy of Andy Burns '12 for seventh (160) in SJU history and two behind Chris Schwartz '11 in sixth (161). Seth Marx '14 is fifth (165). Although it's a fluid statistic and changes from game to game, Baker is currently fourth in program history with a .432 shooting percentage (159-for-368) from behind the arc.

SJU STAYS AT NO. 4: Saint John's slipped one spot to No. 4 in the D3hoops.com Top 15 poll posted Feb. 8 and stayed put in the most recent edition released Feb. 15. 

Randolph-Macon (Va.) received 16 first-place votes and 265 points to stay at No. 1. Illinois Wesleyan jumped one spot to No. 2 (212 points) and Trine (Ind.) vaulted past SJU into No. 3 by one point. SJU (187 points) received a first-place vote.

A LOOK AT THE GUSTIES: Gustavus Adolphus (0-1 overall) opened its 2020-21 season with a 67-45 non-conference loss Feb. 3 at Saint Mary's. The Gusties suffered from a cold-shooting night, making just 25.8 percent (16-of-62) of their shots, including a 3-for-25 performance from beyond the arc. GAC grabbed an early 12-5 lead in the first six minutes of the game, but Saint Mary's quickly responded with an 18-0 run over the next five minutes to give the home team the lead for good. Senior (6-foot-7) forward Peter Lundquist led the Gusties with 10 points on 4 of 14 shooting with four rebounds and four blocks. Fellow seniors (6-foot-3) Logan Rezac and (6-foot-4) Kaleb Feahn added nine points apiece.

The Gusties return their top five scorers, led by Feahn (13.6 ppg.) and Rezac (12.0 ppg.), from the 2019-20 team that finished eighth in the MIAC with an 8-12 record (8-17 overall). GAC averaged nearly 14 (13.88) turnovers per game and surrendered 79 points per contest last season. 

LAST SEASON'S MEETINGS: SJU swept the regular-season series for the fourth straight campaign in 2019-20.

Saint John's 66, at Gustavus 52
Then-No. 13 SJU extended its win streak to seven games with a 66-52 victory at Gustavus Adolphus back on Dec. 11 (2019) in St. Peter.

The Johnnies overcame a 37.5-percent night (24-for-64) from the floor by out-rebounding the Gusties, 47-29. SJU scored 18 points off the night's 21 offensive rebounds. SJU jumped out to a 19-6 lead, led 35-23 at the half and by double digits for the game's final 23:29.

Jubie Alade '20 led all scorers with 19 points and Walford totaled 14 points and 15 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season and 20th of his career.

Hanson and Baker were the other Johnnies in double figures as Hanson added his first double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Baker scored 10 points, all of which came in the first half, and tied his career high with eight rebounds.

Rezac and Lindquist led GAC, which shot 30.4 percent (17-for-56) from the field, with 11 points apiece.

at Saint John's 68, Gustavus 59
SJU shot 65 percent (13-for-20) in the second half to pull away from Gustavus, 68-59, for its 18th consecutive win on Jan. 29 (2020). The victory clinched the program's ninth consecutive MIAC Playoff appearance and 27th overall.

Although the Gusties edged the Johnnies on the glass 28-27, SJU dominated the paint 46-24 and scored 17 points off 13 GAC turnovers. Gustavus scored 12 second-chance points and its bench was responsible for 36 of the team's total of 59.

SJU broke the game open with a 10-2 run over a six-minute span – to gain a 10-point lead (49-39) with 11:30 left – and led by double digits for a majority of the time remaining. The Johnnies led by as much as 15 before GAC made a pair of three-pointers in the game's final 40 seconds.

Alade led four Johnnies in double digits with 19 points. He also grabbed five rebounds and went 6-for-6 from the free throw line. 

Codute and Walford combined to shoot 73.7 percent (14-for-19) from the floor and poured in 14 points apiece. Hanson followed with 10 points and a game-high seven boards.

SERIES HISTORY: SJU is 63-59 against Gustavus since 1964-65, including a 40-24 mark in Collegeville. Head coach Pat McKenzie '04 is 9-1 against the Gusties thanks to eight consecutive wins in the series.