The No. 25 Johnnie basketball team plays host to Buena Vista (Iowa) for a 7 p.m. tip-off on Wednesday, Nov. 16, in Sexton Arena. – Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats/Live Video

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Sophomore guard Zach Longueville (Eagan, Minn./St. Croix Lutheran) hit a 3-pointer with 29 seconds left to play in the second overtime and Saint John's (1-1 overall) held on to edge Wisconsin-Eau Claire 71-70 last Saturday night (Nov. 12) in Sexton Arena.

The score was tied at 61 at the end of regulation and 63 after the first overtime. UWEC's Brock Voigt then hit a layup and a 3-pointer to put his team on top 68-63 with 3:18 remaining.

But sophomore guard Kooper Vaughn (St. Charles, Minn.) hit a jump shot with 2:44 to go, then followed that up with a 3-pointer with 1:10 to go that tied the score at 68. Longueville's 3-pointer gave SJU the lead, but Voigt followed with a layup to cut the gap to one.

Longueville was fouled and went to the line but missed the front end of a one-and-one. The Blugolds got the ball back, but a last-second jump shot fell short.

Vaughn finished with 16 points to lead the Johnnies. Junior guard Blake Berg (West Fargo, N.D./Sheyenne) added 14 points while junior wing Ryan Thissen (Rosemount, Minn./Eastview) and senior post Carson Schoeller (Prior Lake, Minn.) each had 11.

Schoeller also added 11 rebounds to record the second double-double of his collegiate career.

Voigt led all scorers with 30 points and added nine rebounds.

SJU finished 28-for-68 from the field and 8-for-19 from 3-point range. The Blugolds were 28-for-59 from the field and 5-for-19 from beyond the arc. The Johnnies outrebounded UWEC, 41-39.

EXTRA BASKETBALL: Fans were treated with not one but two, 5-minute overtimes in Saturday night's home opener. The Johnnies' previous overtime game was a 74-72 loss as the 13th-ranked team in the country at then-No. 7 St. Thomas on Jan. 21, 2019, in St. Paul. The last double-overtime game was also a loss, 90-81, to NAIA Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) on Nov. 21, 2003, in Eau Claire, Wis.

HOME-OPENING SUCCESS CONTINUES: SJU is now 40-10 in its home opener since the 1973-74 season, including an 8-0 record under the direction of head coach Pat McKenzie '04. 

A LOOK AT THE BEAVERS: Buena Vista (2-0 overall) started its 2022-23 season with a pair of neutral site wins at Simpson (Iowa) last weekend (Nov. 12-13): 80-72 over Westminster (Mo.) on Saturday and 90-57 over Fontbonne (Mo.) on Sunday. Junior (6-foot-4) guard Zane Neubaum scored a career-high 37 points and sophomore (6-foot-2) guard Simon Daniel added 22 points, eight rebounds and five assists as BVU overcame a 15-point deficit (39-24) halftime deficit in the season-opening victory. Neubaum went 16-for-20 from the free-throw line. The Beavers jumped out to a 14-1 lead against Fontbonne and never looked back to move to 2-0. Neubaum led the way with 17 points, seven rebounds and four assists.

Neubaum is shooting 53.6 percent (15-for-28) from the field, including 25 percent (3-for-12) from three-point range, but the rest of the team is at 37.1 percent (39-for-105) overall. The Beavers have forced 41 turnovers and blocked 14 shots through the season's first two games.

LAST YEAR: Saint John's ended its non-conference schedule with an 81-65 win at Buena Vista last Nov. 24 (2021) in Storm Lake, Iowa.

The matinee start (2 p.m.) looked bleak for the Johnnies, who missed their first four shots and fell behind early, 8-0. SJU, however, responded with a 24-3 run and shot 70.8 percent (17-for-24) the rest of the first half to take a 43-28 lead into the break.

The Johnnies finished at 58 percent (29-for-50) for the game and went 6-for-11 from three-point range in the second half. 

Thissen led all scorers with 22 points and recorded team highs in assists (6) and rebounds (6).

Guard Colton Codute '22 followed with 14 points, including 12 on 4-for-4 shooting from long range in the game's final eight minutes. Post Zach Hanson '21 was the third Johnnie in double figures with 13 points, on 5-for-7 shooting, in 20 minutes of play.

Michael Demers led BVU, which shot 41.4 percent (24-for-58) overall and 22.2 percent (6-for-27) from behind the arc, with 18 points.

SERIES HISTORY: Last season's win for SJU was the first meeting between the two schools on the hardwood.