The Johnnie basketball team closes their condensed 2020-21 schedule with a 2 p.m. game at Augsburg this Saturday, March 6, in Minneapolis. – Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats/Live Video

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (3-3, 3-2 MIAC) shot 58.9 percent (33-for-56) from the field, including 63.6 percent (21-for-33) in the second half, but fell to No. 5 St. Thomas 82-80 in a non-conference tilt - likely the final Johnnie-Tommie game on the basketball court – Wednesday night (March 3) in Sexton Arena. 

The Tommies used a number of scoring runs, three-pointers and 18 points off 14 SJU turnovers to eke out the win. SJU trailed by 12 (59-47) with 8:28 remaining and cut the deficit to two (63-61) with 3:37 left, but UST went on an 8-2 run. The Johnnies made things interesting with points on their final six possessions, including five three-pointers. The Tommies' final field goal, a trey from Riley Miller, made it 68-61 with 2:33 left. UST, however, went 13 of 14 from the free-throw line in the final 1:33. The visitors entered the game shooting 65.9 percent from the charity stripe.

SJU gained a two-point lead (15-13) with 12:54 on the clock in the first half, but UST sprinted to a 10-0 run over the next 1:43. The home team battled back again, to within three (29-26), but the Tommies scored the next 11 points before sophomore post Mitchell Plombon (St. Cloud, Minn./Cathedral) ended the Johnnies' scoreless streak at 5:20 (with 32 seconds remaining) as UST took a 40-28 lead into intermission.

Freshman wing Ryan Thissen (Rosemount, Minn./Eastview) led SJU with a career-high 22 points and chipped in seven rebounds and five assists.

Senior post Zach Hanson (New Prague, Minn.) totaled 16 points, 12 of which came in the second half, and Plombon recorded his first collegiate double-double with 15 points and 10 boards. 

Senior wing Oakley Baker (Geneva, Minn./New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva) was the fourth Johnnie in double figures with 13.

A LOOK AT THE AUGGIES: Augsburg (3-3, 2-3 MIAC) topped Gustavus Adolphus 82-78 Wednesday night (March 3 in St. Peter for head coach Aaron Griess' 300th career win. In a game of momentum shifts, Augsburg had the early advantage by jumping out to a 16-9 lead in the first eight minutes. The lead switched hands twice before the Auggies ended the half on a 14-2 run to take a 42-33 lead into the locker room.

Augsburg started the second half with a layup for its largest lead of the game, but the Gusties responded with 15 unanswered points to gain a 48-44 advantage at the 14:54 mark. The two teams traded buckets and the lead five more times, building up to a 72-72 tie with 1:29 left on the clock. With the Auggies in the double-bonus, a foul sent Augsburg's Joe Palmer to the line at the 1:02 mark and he closed out the game at the charity stripe, shooting a perfect 8-for-8 from the line in the final 62 seconds.

The Auggies had four players in double figures, led by sophomore (6-foot-4) guard Joe Palmer with 22 points, 12 of which came from the free-throw line. Sophomore (6-foot-7) forward Bradley Winter posted 17 points and 12 rebounds. The win snapped a two-game losing streak for the Auggies following losses to Saint Mary's (81-78 on Feb. 22) and St. Thomas (81-70 on Feb. 27). 

Palmer leads the Auggies, which shoot 80.4 percent (78-for-97) from the free-throw line but 31.9 percent (51-for-160) from behind the arc, in scoring (17.2 ppg.) and rebounding (7.8 rpg.). Senior (6-foot-1) guard Matt Carik leads the team in minutes (31.5 mpg.) and three-pointers (12), and is second in scoring (16.0 ppg.). Sophomore (6-foot-0) guard Jack Sorenson has a team-leading 28 assists and is third with 14.2 points per contest.

BACK IN 2019-20: The Johnnies swept the season series with Augsburg for the second straight year in 2019-20.

at Saint John's 82, Augsburg 63
Then-No. 11 Saint John's used a hot first half to build a 19-point halftime lead en route to an 82-63 win over Augsburg last Jan. 4 (2020) in Sexton Arena.

The Johnnies shot 56.7 percent (17-for-30) from the floor in the first half, including 50 percent (6-for-12) from three-point range. SJU broke a 14-14 tie with a 9-0 run and scored 12 of the half's final 16 points to take a 46-27 lead into the locker room.

Augsburg started the second half with a 5-0 run to trim its deficit to 14 (46-32), but that was the closest the visitors came as SJU led by as much as 26 (71-45) with 8:53 to play.

Baker set career highs for points (21) and three-pointers (6) to lead four Johnnies in double figures. The .857 shooting percentage from behind the arc was the best by a Johnnie (minimum six treys made) since David Stokman '19 went 7-for-8 at Concordia on Jan. 30, 2017.

Lucas Walford '20 went 7 of 8 from the floor for 15 points and added eight rebounds, four assists and two blocks. Hanson posted 14 points and nine rebounds, while Jubie Alade '20 followed with 13 points and six boards.

The Johnnies out-rebounded the Auggies 44-36, including 15-12 on the offensive glass. Augsburg shot 32.3 percent (10-for-31) and posted a 19-16 rebounding edge in the first half, but scored only two points off nine offensive boards.

Saint John's 75, at Augsburg 64
The duo of Hanson and Alade fueled then-No. 2 SJU to its 21st consecutive win, 75-64 at Augsburg back on Feb. 8 (2020) in Minneapolis. The tandem combined for 36 of the team's 42 second-half points in the win, which locked up a top-two finish in the conference and a bye in the first round of the MIAC Playoffs for SJU.

Hanson led SJU with a career-high 29 points, on 11 of 14 shooting, and added six rebounds. Alade, meanwhile, scored 24 points, his seventh 20-point game of the season and 14th of his career.

SJU went on a 12-0 run to gain a 33-24 lead late in the first half, but Augsburg scored the final four points to end a six-minute (5:59) scoring drought and cut the Johnnies' lead to five (33-28) at the break. 

The Auggies started the second half with an 8-3 advantage to tie the game at 36-36 with 16:45 to play. That's when Alade and Hanson took over. Alade drilled a pair of three-pointers and the two exchanged buckets to send SJU on a 10-0 run. All told, Alade (19) and Hanson (13) combined for the Johnnies' next 32 points following the 36-36 tie.

Walford sunk a pair of free throws with 1:39 remaining to give SJU a 10-point lead (70-60) and become the first Johnnie not named Alade or Hanson to score a point in the half. Hanson finished 6 of 7 from the floor for 14 points, while Alade went 7 of 12 (4-for-5 from three-point) for 22 points in the second half alone. Walford finished with four points, all at the free-throw line, and 13 rebounds. Junior guard Colton Codute (Wayzata, Minn./Orono) scored seven points and Baker dished a career-high seven assists.

Augsburg's Booker Coplin matched Hanson's 29 points, on 10 of 23 shooting (3-for-11 from three-point), and totaled eight rebounds, four assists and three blocks. The Auggies finished at 36.2 percent (21-for-58) from the field and their 12 turnovers turned into 16 points for SJU.

SERIES HISTORY: SJU has won 14 of the last 16 meetings in the series, including victories in each of the last six matchups in Si Melby Hall.