No. 5 Saint John's plays host to Bethel at 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 27, in Sexton Arena. – Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats/Live Video

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (3-1, 2-1 MIAC) suffered its first loss of the abbreviated 2020-21 season Wednesday night (Feb. 24), 76-64 at No. 7 St. Thomas. 

The Tommies shot 58.3 percent (14-for-24) - to the Johnnies' 43.3 percent (13-for-30) - and went 5-for-9 (55.6 percent) from three-point range in the second half.  

SJU cut its deficit to four (49-45) with 10:28 remaining and to six (56-50) with 7:14 left, but the Tommies answered with 5-0 runs on both occasions.

A layup from freshman wing Ryan Thissen (Rosemount, Minn./Eastview) made it 62-56 in favor of UST with 3:44 left, but the Tommies drained back-to-back treys and made all four free-throw attempts in the final two minutes. Thissen scored a career-high 16 points in the loss.

The Johnnies out-shot the Tommies 48 percent-46.9 percent in the first half, but the home team scored 11 points off seven SJU turnovers to take a 35-30 lead into the break. UST finished with 14 points off 11 Johnnie turnovers, while SJU tallied three points off eight Tommie miscues.

Seniors Zach Hanson (20.0 ppg.; New Prague, Minn.) and Oakley Baker (17.3 ppg.; Geneva, Minn./New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva) entered the contest with a combined average of 37 points per game but were held to three in the first half. Hanson was called for his third foul 12 seconds into the second half and his fourth with 8:21 remaining. He finished with seven points and eight rebounds in 28 minutes of play.

Sophomore post Mitchell Plombon (St. Cloud, Minn./Cathedral) led SJU with 19 points on 8 of 11 shooting. Junior guard Colton Codute (Wayzata, Minn./Orono) was the other Johnnie in double figures with 12.

FRESHMAN POINTS: Thissen became the first SJU freshman to score 16 points or more in a game since Jubie Alade '20 poured in 30 points - off the bench - on Feb. 8, 2017, against Augsburg. He ended the night 10 of 15 from the floor, including 3-for-6 from behind the arc, with five rebounds in the Johnnies' 82-76 home loss. The 16+-point performance was Alade's fourth of the season. 

A LOOK AT THE ROYALS: Bethel (2-3, 2-1 MIAC) defeated Concordia 72-50 Monday night (Feb. 22) in Arden Hills. The Royals benefitted largely off a 23-0 run over an eight-minute period in the first half and finished the game with a season-high .509 shooting percentage (28-for-55). Bethel made 10 treys in the first half (10-for-17) and finished at 46.4 percent (13-for-28) from behind the arc. 

Senior (6-foot-4) forward Isaiah Carver-Bagley led the Royals with 17 points, which seems to be a broken record. Carver-Bagley led BU in scoring in all five games so far this season and is averaging 15.4 points per contest. 

Freshman (6-foot-3) forward Joey Kidder and senior (6-foot-4) center Jake Van Wyk led Bethel with seven rebounds each as the Royals out-rebounded the Cobbers, 33-24. Kidder currently leads the team in rebounds per game (6.4), assists per game (3.6), steals (7) and blocks (6).

The Royals are averaging just over 60 points and 14 turnovers per game, and are shooting 55.6 percent (25-for-45) from the free-throw line.

LAST SEASON: The Johnnies swept the Royals in their two regular-season matchups during the 2019-20 season.

at Saint John's 88, Bethel 60
Then-No. 4 SJU shot 64.7 percent (33-for-51) from the field, including 11-for-18 (61.1 percent) from three-point range, in an 88-60 win over Bethel last Jan. 18 (2020) in Collegeville.

The win was the 14th consecutive for SJU, which out-rebounded the Royals (10-5, 7-3 MIAC) by a 35-14 margin (18-6 in the second half) and out-scored them 21-4 in second-chance points.

The Johnnies scored the game's first seven points and broke open a 10-point game (24-14) with a 15-5 run. The home team out-shot the visitors 61.5 percent (16-for-26) to 38.5 percent (10-for-26) in the first half and took a 45-24 lead into the break.

Alade led all scorers with 24 points, his fourth 20-point game of the season and 11th of his career. Baker followed with 15 points, including 13 and 3-for-4 shooting from long range in the first half. Hanson was the third Johnnie in double figures with 11 points in nearly 23 minutes of play.

Carver-Bagley and Hudson Urbanus led BU, which went 4-for-25 from behind the arc, with 15 points apiece. The Royals never led but cut their deficit to as little as 15 (52-37) thanks to a 9-2 run. SJU, however, answered with a 17-5 run of its own and had its first 28-point lead with six minutes remaining.

Saint John's 73, at Bethel 66
The then-fourth-ranked Johnnies won a share of the MIAC regular-season championship with 73-66 victory at Bethel back on Feb. 22 (2020) in Arden Hills.

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, Baker made a driving layup to put the Johnnies ahead with 2:03 to remaining and Codute 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.

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. 

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.

Hanson 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.

Alade scored 12 points and Lucas Walford '20 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.

SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 62-29 against Bethel since the 1977-78 season, including a 39-8 record in Collegeville. SJU has won the last 12 meetings in Sexton Arena.