Saint John's basketball visits Gustavus Adolphus for a 7 p.m. tip-off on Tuesday, Nov. 22, in St. Peter. – Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats/Live Video

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (2-2, 0-1 MIAC) started its conference schedule with a 73-62 loss at St. Olaf on Saturday (Nov. 19) in Northfield. The Oles shot 57.6 percent (19-for-33) in the first half to build a 48-27 halftime lead. The Johnnies cut the deficit to nine (54-45) with 13:32 to play, but STO answered with four straight points and led by double digits the rest of the way.

Junior wing Ryan Thissen (Rosemount, Minn./Eastview) was the lone Johnnie in double figures with 13 points. He added six rebounds and three assists.

SJU shot 50 percent (15-for-30) from the floor in the second half to finish an even 45 percent (27-for-60) for the game. STO cooled to 44.4 percent in the second half, including a 0-for-8 showing from long range, to end at 51.7 percent (31-for-60) overall.

The Johnnies outrebounded STO on the offensive glass, 10-9, but the home team posted a 15-8 advantage in second-chance points and a 33-30 rebounding margin overall. Both teams committed six turnovers, though the Oles turned the miscues into nine points, to the Johnnies' three.

A LOOK AT THE GUSTIES: Gustavus Adolphus (1-2, 1-0 MIAC) shot 59.6 percent (28-for-47) from the field, including a 12-for-18 showing (66.7 percent) from behind the arc, in a 74-71 home win over Saint Mary's on Saturday (Nov. 19). The Cardinals went ahead by two (71-69) with 39 seconds remaining, but senior (6-foot-0) guard Jordan Schommer gave GAC the lead with a traditional three-point play on the ensuing possession and he added some insurance, after a SMU miss, with two free throws with four seconds left. Sophomore (6-foot-5) forward Spencer Swanson led all scorers with 20 points. He leads the team in scoring (21.0 ppg.) and rebounding (8.7 rpg.) through the season's first three games. 

LAST SEASON'S MEETINGS: SJU swept the series with GAC for the fifth consecutive season in 2021-22.

Saint John's 69, at Gustavus 55 (Jan. 12)
SJU held GAC to 13 points in the game's final 15:24 to win its ninth straight game, 69-55, in St. Peter. The Johnnies trailed by seven (42-35) with 15:25 to play, but the Gusties proceeded to make only five of its final 25 shot attempts (went 3-for-5 from the free-throw line) and committed five turnovers. The victory was the 125th for head coach Pat McKenzie '04.

SJU shot 53.6 percent (15-for-28) from the floor in the second half, including 50 percent (5-for-10) from three-point range, to out-score GAC 40-27 after halftime (34-13 in the final 15:24).

Freshman guard Kooper Vaughn (St. Charles, Minn.) led all scorers with 19 points on 7-for-9 shooting (3-for-4 from long range) and post Zach Hanson '21 followed with 11. Thissen fell one rebound shy of a double-double, for the second consecutive game, with 10 points and nine boards.

Guard Colton Codute '22 and senior post Carson Schoeller (Prior Lake, Minn.) chipped in nine points apiece. Codute also grabbed five rebounds and dished three assists, while Schoeller drained three key treys off the bench in the second half.

Spencer Swanson led Gustavus, which shot 39 percent (23-for-59) overall and 22.2 percent (4-for-18) from behind the arc, with 14 points off the bench. Nolan Malo tallied a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

at Saint John's 87, Gustavus 65 (Feb. 16)
The Johnnies ended the regular-season schedule with a convincing 87-65 win over Gustavus in Collegeville. The victory clinched SJU's fourth consecutive 20-win season (not counting the COVID-shortened 2020-21 campaign) and 14th in program history.

SJU shot a blistering 65.5 percent (19-for-29) in the first half and finished at 58.1 percent (36-for-62) for the game, while out-scoring Gustavus 58-28 in the paint. SJU held GAC, which started the night as the MIAC's second-best shooting team (.479) behind SJU (.502) in league play, to 39.3 percent (24-for-61) from the field, including 22.2 percent (4-for-18) from three-point range.

The home team used a 17-4 run over a 5:25 span to build a 45-28 lead, though the Gusties scored the half's final five points to cut SJU's lead to 49-37 at the break. The Johnnies started the second half with a 9-2 run and put together a 12-2 scoring advantage to gain their largest lead of the night, 29 (77-48), with 8:42 to play.

Thissen led all scorers with 17 points, 15 of which came in the first half, and Hanson added 15 points and eight rebounds in just under 22 minutes. 

Senior post Mitchell Plombon (St. Cloud, Minn./Cathedral) added 12 points and five rebounds, before fouling out with 4:59 remaining, and Vaughn chipped in 11 points. Kaleb Feahn led five Gusties in double digits with 13 points on 4-for-15 shooting.

SERIES HISTORY: SJU is 66-59 against Gustavus since 1964-65, but just 24-35 in St. Peter. McKenzie is 12-1 against the Gusties thanks to 11 consecutive wins in the series.