Box Score

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Saint John's basketball outscored Hamline 42-16 in the second half to win its fifth-straight game, 75-46, on Saturday, Dec. 10, in Hutton Arena.

Three days after SJU (7-2, 5-1 MIAC) held Macalester to 14 points in the second half, including four over the game's final 12:34, the Johnnies broke open a 33-30 halftime score Saturday with the second half's first 11 points in an eventual 19-4 run (52-34) and never looked back. Hamline (6-2, 3-2 MIAC) scored two points in the first 6:49 after halftime and went 4-for-24 from the field, including 0-for-10 from behind the three-point arc, in the second half.

The Johnnies shot above 59 percent for the fourth-consecutive game – 60.8 percent (31-for-51) – and outrebounded the Pipers by a 36-21 margin. HU finished at 28.3 percent (15-for-53) overall and 24 percent (6-for-25) from three-point range.

SJU shot 58.3 percent (14-for-24) from the field and outrebounded the home team 18-9 in the first half, but committed nine turnovers and led by only three (33-30) at the break. The Pipers cut into a 10-point SJU lead (29-19) by taking an 11-4 run into halftime. 

The visitors made seven of their first nine shot attempts and went 3-for-3 at the free-throw line in the 19-4 run to start the second half.

Junior wing Ryan Thissen (Rosemount, Minn./Eastview) led all scorers with 20 points, his fourth 20-point game of the season and 11th of his career. Sophomore guard Kooper Vaughn (St. Charles, Minn.) followed with 16 points, 11 of which came in the second half on a 3-for-3 showing from three-point.

Senior post Carson Schoeller (Prior Lake, Minn.) and sophomore guard Zach Longueville (Eagan, Minn./St. Croix Lutheran) added seven points apiece. Schoeller grabbed 10 rebounds and Longueville led SJU with five assists.

Senior post Mitchell Plombon (St. Cloud, Minn./Cathedral), who scored a career-high 27 points in Wednesday's victory at Macalester, was plagued by foul trouble and collected four points with four boards in 15 minutes.

Austin Holt led HU with 18 points. The Pipers' top two scorers, Bradley Cimperman (20.0 ppg.) and Daniel McCarrell (16.9 ppg.), combined for 12 points on 4-for-20 shooting (2-for-8 from three-point).

With the win, SJU improved to 95-26 against the Pipers since 1964-65, including a 42-18 record in Hutton Arena. The Johnnies have won each of the last 16 meetings overall.

For the week, the Johnnies shot 60.6 percent (63-104) to the opposition's 33.3 percent (35-105) overall, including 52.0 percent (13-25) to 26.2 percent (15-27) from behind the arc, in the two road wins.

The Johnnies travel to the Pacific Northwest for a pair of games hosted by Whitworth on Tuesday-Wednesday, Dec. 20-21, in Spokane, Wash. SJU faces the host Pirates at 6 p.m. PT Tuesday, followed by a neutral-site game against Linfield (Ore.) at 4 p.m. PT Wednesday.