No. 25 Saint John's basketball hosts Wisconsin-Eau Claire for its home opener at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 12, in Sexton Arena. – Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats/Live Video

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (0-1 overall) overcame a 14-point deficit in the second half but fell in its season opener at No. 15 Wisconsin-La Crosse, 84-80, on Tuesday night (Nov. 8).

La Crosse scored the game's first 11 points and led by as much as 16 in the first half, which SJU chipped away to a 12-point deficit (45-33) at halftime. The home team led by 14 (57-43) with 12:50 left to play, but the Johnnies made five of their next six shots, including a four-point play from sophomore guard Kooper Vaughn (St. Charles, Minn.), to make it a one-point game (60-59) with 8:29 remaining.

A layup from junior guard Brandon Adelman (New London, Minn./New London-Spicer) on the next possession gave SJU its first lead of the game at the 7:49 mark. Vaughn hit another three-pointer to make it 66-64 in favor of the Johnnies with 6:44 left and a dunk from senior post Mitchell Plombon (St. Cloud, Minn./Cathedral), following a traditional three-point play from UWL, gave the lead back (68-67) to SJU with 5:46 remaining.

The Johnnies, however, made only one of their next four shot attempts and turned the ball over four times as the Eagles built a 78-70 lead with just over a minute left. Three free throws from Vaughn cut the deficit to 82-80 with 14 ticks left on the clock, but UWL made its final two shots from the charity stripe to seal the victory.

Junior wing Ryan Thissen (Rosemount, Minn./Eastview) led all scorers with 23 points, while Vaughn added 19 with a 4-for-7 performance from behind the arc. Both Johnnies were a perfect 7-for-7 from the free-throw line.

Senior post Carson Schoeller (Prior Lake, Minn.) added 13 points and five rebounds, and Adelman was the fourth Johnnie in double-figures with a career-high 12 points and seven rebounds off the bench.

All-American Ethan Anderson led the Eagles with 20 points and six assists.

SJU shot 50 percent, both overall (16-for-32) and from three-point range (6-for-12), in the second half to finish at 46.4 percent (26-for-56) for the game. The Johnnies outscored the Eagles 17-12 off turnovers and 6-4 in second-chance points, but missed 12 layups/shots in the paint in the loss.

HOME OPENERS: SJU is 39-10 in its home opener since the 1973-74 season, including a 7-0 record under the direction of head coach Pat McKenzie '04. Four of the last six losses were to Division II opponents (three to St. Cloud State and one to Mary, N.D.). The other two were to members of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference: then-No. 10 Wisconsin-Stevens Point on Nov. 15, 2009 (81-57); and Wisconsin-Platteville on Nov. 18, 2001 (79-71 in overtime).

A LOOK AT THE BLUGOLDS: Wisconsin-Eau Claire (1-0 overall) started its 2022-23 season with a 92-69 home win over Bethel Wednesday night (Nov. 9). The Blugolds shot 60.6 percent (20-for-33) in the first half to build a 49-28 lead at the break. Thirty of the 49 points came in the paint, including 15 off nine Bethel turnovers. UWEC finished with convincing stat advantages off turnovers (29-11), in the paint (64-32) and second-chance points (11-2). 

Senior (6-foot-5) forward Brock Voigt led all scorers with 22 points, on 10-for-10 shooting from the field and added a team-high five rebounds. Junior (6-foot-1) guard Michael Casper and senior (6-foot-3) guard Carter Hanke followed with 18 and 13 points, respectively.

THE LAST TIME: Then-No. 2 Saint John's advanced to the Sweet 16 with a 78-69 win over UWEC the last time these two teams met on March 7, 2020 - the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament - in Collegeville.

Ahead by five (67-62), SJU scored its last 11 points at the free-throw line (11-for-12) in the final 1:51 to seal the victory, which tied the Johnnies' program record for wins in a season (1978-79). The Blugolds led by two (37-35) at halftime thanks to a 57.7-percent showing from the floor (4-for-5 from three-point). The Johnnies countered a 1-for-6 performance from downtown by going 13-for-20 inside the arc in the first half.

SJU opened the second half with a 13-5 run in the first 7:40 and led by as many as nine (59-50) with 7:14 to play. UWEC cut its deficit to three (65-62) with 3:13 remaining, but post Lucas Walford '20 took advantage of an offensive rebound for a bucket – the team's final made field goal – to go back ahead by five (67-62).

Post Zach Hanson '21 led all scorers with 21 points on 10 of 11 shooting. He went 4-for-4 during a 2:45 span as SJU built an eight-point lead (61-53) with 6:38 remaining. Wing Jubie Alade '20 scored 15 points, which enabled him to pass Norb Kowalkowski '59 and Paul Bernabei '69 for sixth in school history with 1,418 in his career. Walford posted his 11th double-double of the season and 26th of his career with 15 points and 10 rebounds. He also blocked three shots.

Guard Colton Codute '22 was the fourth Johnnie in double digits with 13 points, 11 of which came in the second half (6-for-6 at the charity stripe).

Spencer Page led Eau Claire with 18 points, thanks in large part to a 5-for-7 performance from the field (3-for-3 from three-point) and 13 points in the first half. Cole Rabedeaux added 16 points and three steals.

SJU out-rebounded UWEC 32-19 (9-3 on the offensive glass) and went 21-for-24 at the free-throw line. The home team finished at 52.9 percent (27-for-51) overall and 61.5 percent (24-for-39) inside the three-point arc.

SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 5-3 all-time against the Blugolds on the hardwood, including a 2-0 record in Collegeville.

-Dec. 8, 1951: SJU 73, at UWEC 71
-Nov. 28, 1952: at SJU 100, UWEC 78
-Dec. 28, 1968: SJU 59, UWEC 49 (in St. Cloud)
-Nov. 26, 1982: at UWEC 57, SJU 47
-Nov. 26, 1983: at UWEC 69, SJU 55
-Nov. 23, 1984: at UWEC 78, SJU 53
-Nov. 27, 2009: SJU 68, UWEC 66 (in Oshkosh, Wis.)
-March 7, 2020: at SJU 78, UWEC 69 (NCAA Second Round)