Box Score

LA CROSSE, Wis. – No. 25 Saint John's basketball 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, 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.

The Johnnies host Wisconsin-Eau Claire at 5:30 p.m. this Saturday, Nov. 12, in Sexton Arena.