No. 5 Saint John's travels to face No. 7 St. Thomas at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 24, in St. Paul. – Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats | Live Video

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (3-0, 2-0 MIAC) out-scored Gustavus Adolphus 18-9 over the final 5:27 to earn a 75-68 win Sunday afternoon (Feb. 21) in Sexton Arena. The game was the first for SJU since Feb. 6 and the first for the Gusties since Feb. 3.

A bucket from senior post Zach Hanson (New Prague, Minn.) tied the game at 59-59 with 5:08 remaining and a rare four-point play from senior wing Oakley Baker (Geneva, Minn./New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva) swung the momentum, and score, in favor of SJU 1:39 later. 

Baker drew a charge of the Gusties' Peter Lundquist - his fifth foul of the game - on the ensuing possession with 3:24 to play. Lundquist led GAC with a career-high 20 points.

SJU, which finished 6 of 8 from the free-throw line the rest of the way, expanded its lead to as much as nine (72-63) with 48 seconds remaining. The Gusties made three of their final 10 shot attempts and committed two turnovers over the game's final five minutes

Sophomore post Mitchell Plombon (St. Cloud, Minn./Cathedral) led all scorers with a career-high 21 points. He grabbed a career-high six rebounds and went a perfect 8-for-8 from the charity stripe in the win.

Baker finished with 18 points and Hanson totaled 12 points and 11 rebounds for his second consecutive double-double and seventh of his career.

SJU trailed by as much as eight (24-16) with 5:33 left in the first half but closed with a 15-6 run to take a one-point lead (31-30) into the break.

The Johnnies out-rebounded the Gusties 37-28 and went 21 of 25 from the free-throw line.

PERFECT AT THE LINE: Plombon entered Sunday's game 15-for-31 (.484) from the free-throw line in his previous 21 games as a Johnnie. He led SJU, which faced an 8-0 run from Gustavus to start the second half, with 11 of the Johnnies' first 13 points after halftime. 

BAKER CONTINUES TO CLIMB: Baker's four-point play Sunday was the 161st three-pointer of his career, which tied him with Chris Schwartz '11 for sixth in school history. He needs four treys to crack the top five and tie Seth Marx '14 at 165. 

SJU & UST SLIP 1 SPOT: SJU slipped one spot to No. 5 in the latest D3hoops.com Top 15 poll released Monday night (Feb. 22). 

Randolph-Macon (5-0 overall) earned 14 first-place votes and 260 points to stay at No. 1. Illinois Wesleyan (4-0 overall) stayed at No. 2 (228 points) and Trine (13-0 overall) received two first-place votes to remain at No. 3 (209 points). Wheaton (Ill., 9-0 overall) jumped past SJU, which received a first-place vote and picked up eight points from last week (to 195), into No. 4 (205 points). UST fell one spot to No. 7.

A LOOK AT THE TOMMIES: St. Thomas (2-0, 1-0 MIAC) returns to the court Wednesday for the first time since Feb. 6's 90-61 win at Concordia. Junior (6-foot-3) guard Riley Miller set a career high with 30 points, thanks to an 8-for-9 night from three-point range. He was 8-for-8 until his final attempt, and is shooting 64 percent (18-for-28) from the floor and 62 percent (13-for-21) from behind the arc. 

Junior (6-foot-0) guard Anders Nelson follows behind Miller in points with an average of 18 per contest, while junior (6-foot-6) forward Parker Bjorklund averages a team-leading 6.5 rebounds in 15 minutes per game.

IN 2019-20: The Johnnies and Tommies split their regular-season matchups, with the away team winning each time. SJU won the rubber match, however, in the MIAC Playoff Championship game. 

Saint John's 87, at St. Thomas 70
Then-No. 7 Saint John's extended its win streak to 12 games with a convincing 87-70 win at then-No. 5 St. Thomas last Jan. 11 (2020) in St. Paul. The Johnnies shot 65.5 percent (36-for-55) from the field and dominated the paint, out-scoring the Tommies 60-34 near the hoop and posting a 35-23 advantage in rebounds.

Hanson led all scorers with 20 points (9-for-12 shooting), while wing Jubie Alade '20 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 guard Sean Ryan '20. 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).

Post Lucas Walford '20 registered his eighth double-double of the season and 23rd of his career with 16 points and 12 rebounds, and blocked three shots. Junior guard Colton Codute (Wayzata, Minn./Orono) was the fifth Johnnie in double figures with 10 points, six rebounds and four assists.

Tommy Anderson led UST, which shot 44.8 percent (26-for-58) and trailed the entire game, with 17 points.

St. Thomas 71, at Saint John's 66
Then-No. 2 SJU saw its 22-game win streak end with a 71-66 loss to then-No. 4 St. Thomas back on Feb. 15 (2020) in front of a capacity crowd (2,560) in Sexton Arena.

The story of the game, statistically, came from the three-point arc as St. Thomas shot 57.9 percent (11-for-19) from downtown - 18.4 percent above its season average - while the Johnnies finished 4-for-19 (21.1 percent). SJU entered the game ninth in NCAA Division III from three-point range at 39.9 percent.

The Tommies made six of their first seven three-point attempts and erased an 8-7 SJU lead with a 19-2 run. The Johnnies answered with a 15-2 run of their own to cut the deficit to 28-25 with 2:59 left in the first half. SJU, however, did not score for the remainder of the half and UST hit a trey with three seconds left to take a 32-25 lead into the break (and finish 7-for-12 from long range).

Post Kyle Sorenson '20 had a made three-pointer negated, which would have tied the game at 45-45, on a rare three-second violation with 10:14 to play. SJU continued to claw back, tying the game at 47-47 and 49-49, but UST ended the game 6-for-7 from the field to the Johnnies' 6-for-14. The Tommies shot 70 percent (14-for-20) in the second half to finish at 55.3 percent (26-for-47) for the game.

SJU entered the bonus down 47-45 with 8:35 remaining and went to the line once, on a non-shooting foul, the rest of the way. The Johnnies finished 14-for-15 from the charity stripe in the loss.

Baker led SJU, which shot 53.6 percent (15-for-28) in the second half and 45.3 percent (24-for-53) overall, with 19 points. He cut the Johnnies' deficit to 65-61 on a four-point play with 1:07 remaining. 

Alade followed with 14 points and Hanson added 12 points, six rebounds and two blocks.

Anderson led the Tommies with 19 points.

SJU posted a 28-25 edge in rebounds (7-2 offensive) and out-scored UST 10-0 in second-chance points. The Tommies, meanwhile, scored 15 points off seven Johnnie turnovers (SJU scored 10 points off 10 UST miscues).

at Saint John's 82, St. Thomas 63 (MIAC Playoff Championship)
The third-ranked Johnnies won their second consecutive MIAC Playoff championship with a resounding 82-63 victory over then-No. 2 UST on Feb. 29 in Collegeville. The playoff title was the seventh for SJU, which made its third consecutive national tournament appearance and 20th overall.

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.

Baker 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 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.

Alade 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.

Hanson 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.

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. 

SERIES HISTORY: SJU has won six of the last eight meetings and three of the last four in St. Paul. The series is even at 10-10 since the 2011-12 season.