Saint John's basketball travels to face Carleton for a 7 p.m. game on Wednesday, Jan. 26, in Northfield. - Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats/Live Video

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (13-3, 10-1 MIAC) basketball broke a halftime stalemate by shooting 64.3 percent (18-for-28) from the field, including 7-for-11 (63.6 percent) from three-point range, in the second half en route to an 83-62 win over St. Scholastica last Saturday (Jan. 22) in Sexton Arena. 
 
Down one (44-43) 3:23 into the second half, SJU (13-3, 10-1 MIAC) made its next six shots, including three behind the arc, to gain a 13-point lead (58-45) and led by double digits the rest of the way. 
 
Sophomore wing Ryan Thissen (Rosemount, Minn./Eastview) led all scorers - and four Johnnies in double figures - with 20 points on 9-for-12 shooting, while adding seven rebounds and four assists. Freshman guard Kooper Vaughn (St. Charles, Minn.) followed with 18 points on a 6-for-10 showing from downtown, while senior guard Colton Codute (Wayzata, Minn./Orono) added 11 points and two steals. 
 
Junior post Carson Schoeller (Prior Lake, Minn.) provided a spark for SJU off the bench with his first collegiate double-double, 14 points and a career-high 10 rebounds, in 21 minutes. He also blocked a career-high three shots, and five of his 10 boards were on the offensive glass. 

The Saints hung in with SJU by shooting 53.8 percent (14-for-26) and 60 percent (6-for-10) from three-point in the first half. CSS entered Saturday's matinee eighth in the MIAC in shooting percentage (.410) and last in three-point percentage (.283) in conference play. St. Scholastica cooled off in the second half, going 37.9 percent (11-for-29) overall and 0-for-5 from long range. Jack Silgen led the visitors with 18 points. SJU out-rebounded CSS 37-24, though the Saints scored 19 points off 13 Johnnie turnovers. 

STAT COMPARISONS: SJU continues to lead the MIAC in shooting percentage, overall and three-point, in conference games. The Johnnies and Knights are Nos. 1-2 in scoring defense and three-point percentage in league play.

Scoring Offense 
2. SJU, 76.5 ppg. (74.2 overall) 
4. CAR, 72.1 ppg. (75.6 overall) 
 
Scoring Defense 
1. SJU, 61.2 ppg. (62.6 overall) 
2. CAR, 66.2 ppg. (69.3 overall) 
 
Shooting Percentage 
1. SJU, 52.3 percent (51.0 overall) 
4. CAR, 46.6 percent (47.3 overall) 
 
Three-Point Percentage 
1. SJU, 46.3 percent (40.4 overall) 
2. CAR, 37.9 percent (37.0 overall) 
 
Free-Throw Percentage 
4. SJU, 74.5 percent (73.2 overall) 
5. CAR, 72.9 percent (70.7 overall) 
 
Rebounding 
6. CAR, 34.5 rpg. (35.1 overall) 
9. SJU, 31.9 rpg. (32.4 overall) 

A LOOK AT THE KNIGHTS: Carleton (12-3, 9-2 MIAC) earned its sixth straight win, 87-75, Sunday afternoon (Jan. 23) at Concordia-Moorhead. The game was tied at 75-75 with 3:30 left before the Knights closed it out with a 12-0 run. Carleton shot 61.5 percent (16-for-26) from three-point range, including a 7-for-8 performance from junior (6-foot-3) guard Beck Page (career-high 25 points). Junior (6-foot-8) forward Jeremy Beckler is fourth in the MIAC in scoring (17.2 ppg.) and is followed in double digits by freshman (6-foot-1) guard Luke Harris (13.3 ppg.) and senior (6-foot-6) forward Alex Battist (12.1 ppg.). Battist did not play against SJU last month.

IN DECEMBER: SJU closed the fall semester with a seven-game win streak thanks to an 80-51 victory over Carleton earlier this season on Dec. 14 in Collegeville. The Johnnies' shooting percentages matched, both overall (33-for-54) and from three-point range (11-for-18), at 61.1 percent. The home team scored 21 points off 16 Carleton turnovers and totaled 38 points off the bench.

The Knights cut their deficit to three points on two occasions after the midway point of the opening half. The first was with a 23-20 at the 8:08 mark, but SJU answered with an 8-0 run. The second was 31-28 with 2:37 on the clock, and the Johnnies responded with a 10-2 run to take a 41-30 lead into intermission. The Johnnies went 7-for-10 from behind the arc in the second half and led by 20 points or more for the game's final 15:06.

Sophomore guard Jared Rainey (Maple Grove, Minn.) led five Johnnies in double figures with 15 points on a perfect 5-for-5 night from the field (3-for-3 from three-point range).

Junior post Mitchell Plombon (St. Cloud, Minn./Cathedral) and freshman guard Zach Longueville (Eagan, Minn./St. Croix Lutheran) followed with 12 points apiece off the bench. Plombon went 6-for-8 from the floor, including 5-for-5 in the first half, while Longueville posted a 4-for-7 performance from long range for the career-high 12 points.

Thissen added 11 points and a team-high six rebounds, and senior post Zach Hanson (New Prague, Minn.) scored 10 points (5-for-6 shooting) in 20 minutes of play. 

Luke Harris led Carleton with 18 points. The Knights were whistled for only four fouls (to the Johnnies' 15), but finished at 39.1 percent (18-for-46) overall and 2-for-13 (15.4 percent) from behind the arc. 

SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 48-33 against the Knights since the 1964-65 season, but just 18-22 in West Gymnasium. SJU has won the last four meetings overall (six of the last seven).