Saint John's basketball hosts Augsburg for a 1 p.m. game on Saturday, Dec. 3, in Sexton Arena. – Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats/Live Video

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (4-2, 2-1 MIAC) closed November with an 81-58 home win over St. Scholastica on Wednesday night (Nov. 30) in Sexton Arena. The Johnnies shot a season-high 60 percent (30-for-50) from the field, including 66.7 percent (16-for-24) in the second half, and outrebounded the Saints by a 35-25 margin in the victory.

SJU only led by one (28-27) with 2:24 left in the first half, but scored the final six points to take a 34-27 lead into the break. The Johnnies broke open the game with a 10-1 run over a 3:34 span and led by as many as 24. 

Sophomore guard Kooper Vaughn (St. Charles, Minn.) led the Johnnies with 23 points - the fourth 20-point game of his career - and a career-high nine rebounds, and tied a career high with six three-pointers (6-for-9). 

SJU finished at 42.1 percent (8-for-19) from long range thanks to a 4-for-7 showing in the second half.

Senior post Mitchell Plombon (St. Cloud, Minn./Cathedral) followed with 18 points on 8-for-9 shooting and six rebounds, while junior wing Ryan Thissen (Rosemount, Minn./Eastview) added 16 points.

Noah Winesett was the lone scorer in double figures for CSS with a game-high 26 points.

SIX TREYS: Vaughn tied a career high with six three-pointers (6-for-9) in Wednesday night's win over St. Scholastica. He made six treys on two occasions last season as a freshman, including a 6-for-10 performance the last time the Johnnies hosted CSS on Jan. 22 (an 83-62 SJU win). A 42.7-percent shooter from three-point range (90-for-211), Vaughn is tied with Owen Ziegler of Saint Mary's for the MIAC lead with 20 three-pointers this season.

LAST HOME GAME UNTIL 2023: Saturday's home game against Augsburg is SJU's last until nearly two weeks into 2023. The Johnnies travel to St. Paul for games against Macalester (Dec. 7) and Hamline (Dec. 10) next week before they head to Spokane, Wash., Dec. 20-21. SJU starts the new year Jan. 7 at Saint Mary's before returning home to host Concordia on Jan. 11.

STAT COMPARISONS: The Johnnies hold statistical advantages over the Auggies in five of the six main categories.

Scoring Offense
-SJU: 71.2 ppg.
-AUG: 65.0 ppg.

Scoring Defense
-SJU: 65.3 ppg.
-AUG: 72.2 ppg.

Shooting Percentage
-SJU: 45.8 percent (157-343)
-AUG: 37.0 percent (144-389) 

Three-Point Percentage
-SJU: 36.6 percent (41-112)
-AUG: 27.6 percent (32-116) 

Free-Throw Percentage
-SJU: 72.0 percent (72-100)
-AUG: 68.6 percent (70-102)

Rebounding
-AUG: 41.0 rpg.
-SJU: 35.8 rpg.

A LOOK AT THE AUGGIES: Augsburg (2-4, 1-2 MIAC) lost its third game in a row, 84-67 to Carleton, on Wednesday night (Nov. 30) in Minneapolis. The Auggies shot 49.1 percent (28-for-57) from the floor, including 46.7 percent (7-for-15) from three-point land, but the Knights scored 21 points off 15 AUG turnovers and shot 52.5 percent (31-for-59) from the field. Augsburg left seven points at the free-throw line (4-for-11). Senior (6-foot-3) guard Conner Knoepfle led the Auggies with a career-high 21 points, shooting 64.3 percent (9-for-14) from the field and 3-for-4 from beyond the arc. He leads the team in scoring (12.2 ppg.) and assists (14). As a team, AUG is shooting just 37 percent from the floor and 27.6 percent (32-for-116) from three-point range so far this season.

LAST SEASON: The visiting team picked up a close win in the two meetings last season.

Augsburg 67, at Saint John's 66 (Jan. 15)
SJU clawed back from a 17-point deficit but saw its nine-game win streak end with a 67-66 loss to Augsburg on Jan. 15, in Collegeville. The Johnnies had an opportunity to win the game in the closing seconds, but post Zach Hanson's '21 jumper rattled off the rim.

SJU overcame a poor first half by shooting 62.5 percent (15-for-24) from the field and 5-for-7 from three-point range after halftime. The home team gained its first lead since the game's opening basket (Plombon) when Plombon made two free throws to put the Johnnies ahead 56-54 with 6:12 remaining. 

SJU led by four on two occasions, the last with 2:42 to play (64-60). Augsburg answered with a bucket and took advantage of an SJU turnover with a three-pointer from Joe Palmer to gain a 65-64 lead. The Johnnies had the opportunity to tie the game a minute later, but missed the front end of a one-and-one.

Palmer made it a three-point game (67-64) with a jumper as the shot clock expired and Hanson brought it back to one with 18 seconds left. The Auggies failed to take advantage of a one-and-one opportunity from the free-throw line, but SJU did the same with four seconds remaining. The rebound, however, glanced off an Auggie and the Johnnies were able to set up potential, game-tying in-bounds play under the hoop.

Plombon led SJU with a season-high 16 points and grabbed six rebounds. Guard Colton Codute scored 15 points on 5-for-5 shooting (4-for-4 from three-point), all in the second half. Thirteen of the 15 points game during the six-minute stretch that lifted SJU to its first four-point lead. Hanson totaled 12 points, seven boards, four assists and two steals. 

SJU made only two of its first 12 shot attempts and broke the five-point barrier with 11:17 left in the first half (to trail 19-7). The Johnnies finished the game's first 20 minutes at 36.7 percent (11-for-30) overall - including nine missed shots in the paint - and 2-for-9 from behind the arc to trail 35-24 at the break.

Palmer notched a double-double, leading all scorers with 30 points on 11 of 20 shooting (4-for-9 from three-point) and added 10 rebounds. The Auggies shot 50 percent in both halves, but cooled from 46.7 percent (7-for-15) to 25 percent (2-for-8) from downtown. 

Saint John's 68, at Augsburg 65 (Feb. 12)
The Johnnies won their second consecutive MIAC regular-season championship with a 68-65 victory at Augsburg on Feb. 12 in Minneapolis. The Auggies led by nine (51-42) with 9:28 remaining, but SJU answered with an 11-0 run to gain its first lead since 4:32 into the game. AUG, however, responded with a 12-6 scoring margin for a 63-59 lead with 3:37 left. That is, until Vaughn scored the game's next five points to swing the lead back to SJU, 64-63, with 1:12 remaining.

Palmer made it 65-64 for Augsburg with a pair of free throws, following three missed shots (including the front end of a one-and-one) and three offensive rebounds. On the ensuing possession, Thissen grabbed the offensive board of his own miss and was fouled, and registered the game-winning points with two free throws with 10.7 seconds left.

Palmer's fadeaway attempt near the foul line hit the iron and the Auggies were called for a foul with 0.5 left. Vaughn sealed the victory with two more free throws to finish with 12 points, nine of which came in the second half (seven in the final 2:34).

Hanson led five Johnnies in double figures with 16 points.

SJU shot 64 percent (16-for-25) in the second half to finish at 51 percent (26-for-51) overall. A sluggish first half (38.5 percent) that included five missed layups gave the Auggies a 33-24 halftime lead.

Thissen and Plombon finished with 11 points apiece, while Codute added 10 points and eight rebounds.

Palmer led all scorers with 25 points, on 8-for-22 shooting. Augsburg's last field goal was a three-pointer from Rayquan Moore, which gave the home team a four-point lead (61-57), with 4:17 left.

Rebounds were even at 28-28, though the Auggies collected an 11-8 edge on the offensive glass and recorded scoring advantages off turnovers (16-14) and in second-chance points (15-11).

SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 54-42 against Augsburg since the 1978-79 season, including a 32-15 record in Collegeville. SJU has won 15 of the last 19 meetings overall and eight of the last 10 in Sexton Arena.