Saint John's basketball travels 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. - Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats | Live Video

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (7-2, 5-1 MIAC) outscored Hamline 42-16 in the second half to win its fifth-straight game, 75-46, back on Dec. 10 in St. Paul.

Three days after SJU 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 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).

HOT SHOOTING: SJU has shot 59 percent from the field or better in each of its last four games. The last time the Johnnies accomplished the feat was near the end of the 1993-94 regular season: Feb. 9 vs. Macalester (W, 89-71, 36-for-58/62.1 percent); Feb. 12 at St. Thomas (W, 72-59, 29-for-45, 64.4 percent); Feb. 14 vs. Gustavus Adolphus (W, 101-92, 33-for-55, 60 percent); and Feb. 16 vs. St. Olaf (W, 100-67, 39-for-59, 66.1 percent). Defensively, SJU's opponents are shooting 34.6 percent (83-for-240) after halftime, including just 20.5 percent (16-for-78) from three-point range.

50 POINTS OR LESS: SJU has held the opposition to 50 points or less in four of the last five games: Nov. 22 at Gustavus Adolphus (W, 66-50); Dec. 3 vs. Augsburg (W, 78-50); Dec. 7 at Macalester (W, 75-50); and Dec. 10 at Hamline (W, 75-46). The last time the Johnnies held opponents to 50 points or less three times during a four-game stretch occurred prior to the three-point line's installation, near the end of the 1981-82 season: Feb. 10 at Saint Mary's (W, 54-49); Feb. 17 at St. Olaf (W, 60-48); Feb. 20 vs. Hamline (W, 51-50); and Feb. 23 vs. Macalester (W, 54-47). SJU nearly accomplished the feat last season when it held Carleton to 50 points on Jan. 26 (a 65-50 win), followed by victories over Bethel on Feb. 2 (72-51), Macalester on Feb. 5 (59-45) and Hamline on Feb. 7 (65-35), all in Collegeville. SJU currently leads the MIAC in scoring defense (59.8 ppg.) and scoring margin (+13.0 ppg.). 

NATIONAL STATS: The Johnnies are currently in NCAA Division III's top 20 statistically - out of 413 teams - in four categories: 10th in both shooting percentage (.504) and fewest turnovers per game (10.1), 15th in scoring defense (59.8 ppg.) and 18th in assist/turnover ratio (+1.42). Individually, Thissen is eighth nationally in assist/turnover ratio (+3.67) and Vaughn is 19th in three-point percentage (.500, 26-for-52).
 
STAT COMPARISONS
Scoring Offense
-LIN: 74.4 ppg.
-WTW: 74.1 ppg.
-SJU: 72.8 ppg.

Scoring Defense
-SJU: 59.8 ppg.
-LIN: 68.5 ppg.
-WTW: 74.0 ppg.

Shooting Percentage
-SJU: 50.4 percent (255-506)
-WTW: 46.2 percent (217-470)
-LIN: 45.7 percent (220-481)

Three-Point Percentage 
-SJU: 39.0 percent (60-154)
-WTW: 35.2 percent (68-193)
-LIN: 34.8 percent (72-207)

Free-Throw Percentage
-SJU: 71.4 percent (85-119)
-WTW: 70.0 percent (91-130)
-LIN: 66.9 percent (83-124)

Rebounding
-WTW: 36.0 rpg.
-SJU: 35.3 rpg.
-LIN: 34.9 rpg. 

A LOOK AT THE PIRATES: Whitworth (4-4, 1-1 NWC) bounced back from an 82-75 road loss Dec. 2 at Puget Sound (Wash.) with an 81-80 win in overtime Dec. 3 at Pacific Lutheran (Wash.). Senior (6-foot-0) guard Rowan Anderson tied the game on a three-pointer with 3.7 seconds left and freshman (6-foot-1) guard Diego Jaquez stole the ensuing inbounds pass and drove to the hoop, where he was fouled with 1.4 seconds remaining. He missed the first free throw but made the second for the game-winning point. The Lutes led by four (78-74) with 22 seconds to play. Junior (6-foot-4) guard Jake Holtz led Whitworth with a career-high 22 points and eight rebounds, while senior (6-foot-6) forward J.T. McDermott added 15 points and nine boards. McDermott (14.6 ppg./6.1 rpg.) and Holtz (14.1 ppg./7.6 rpg.) lead the team in scoring and rebounding, respectively.

SERIES HISTORY: Tuesday's game is the first meeting between Saint John's and Whitworth on the basketball court. Carleton defeated Whitworth, 76-59, earlier this season on Nov. 25 in Colorado Springs, Colo. 

A LOOK AT THE WILDCATS: Linfield (4-4, 1-1 NWC) snapped a two-game skid with a 74-51 home win over NAIA Walla Walla (Wash.) its last time out on Dec. 10. The Wolves cut their deficit to 11 with 16:01 remaining in the game, but the Wildcats answered with a 17-0 run over the next eight minutes. Freshman (6-foot-5) forward Danilo Petrovic scored a career-high 17 points and added seven rebounds. Sophomore (6-foot-0) guard Trey Brandt followed with 14 points and eight assists, while senior (6-foot-5) forward Reece Gibb added 11 points and six boards. Bryant leads Linfield, which plays Mary Hardin-Baylor (Texas) Tuesday night before SJU on Wednesday, in scoring (14.9 ppg.), rebounding (5.3 rpg.) and assists (35).

THE LAST TIME: Then-No. 11 Saint John's opened its two-game Oregon trip with a 69-62 win over Linfield the last time these two teams met on Dec. 20 (2019) in McMinnville, Ore. The Johnnies erased a one-point deficit (54-53) with 6:09 remaining thanks to a 9-0 run over the next 3:17. The Wildcats trimmed SJU's lead to five (62-57) before guard Colton Codute '22 drained his fifth three-pointer of the afternoon with 1:31 left and SJU went 4-for-4 from the charity stripe to seal the victory.

Wing Jubie Alade '20 led all scorers with 18 points, on 7 of 9 shooting, and posted four rebounds, two assists and two blocks. The Johnnies jumped out to a 22-9 lead at the 12:27 mark of the first half before the home team responded with a 13-0 run to tie the game over the next 4:21. SJU settled down and doubled up the Wildcats 12-6 to take a 34-28 lead into halftime.

The five treys tied a career high for Codute, who followed Alade with 15 points, four rebounds and three assists.

Post Lucas Walford '20 recorded his sixth double-double of the season and 21st of his career with 12 points and 13 rebounds. He also chipped in four assists. Wing Oakley Baker '21 followed with 10 points and five rebounds.

Post Zach Hanson '21 registered eight points and seven rebounds in 26 minutes. A career 61.6-percent shooter (183-for-197), Hanson made only one of his first 10 shots but drained his final two and a pair of free throws in the final five minutes.

SJU outrebounded Linfield 40-27, including 13-7 on the offensive glass, and tallied a 13-4 advantage in second-chance points.

SERIES HISTORY: The meeting in December 2019 was the first between the two programs on the hardwood.