Box Score
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Saint John's basketball held Macalester to 14 points in the second half, including four over the game's final 12:34, in a 75-50 road win on Wednesday, Dec. 7, at the Leonard Center.
The Johnnies (6-2, 4-1 MIAC) held the Scots (6-2, 3-1 MIAC) scoreless for a 10:08 span (12:34-2:26) in the second half and broke a six-point lead (46-40) open with a 23-6 run.
Macalester won the opening tip but committed turnovers on its first four possessions, which SJU turned into eight points for an early 8-0 lead. The Johnnies built a 22-7 lead and led by 29-15 with 10:27 left in the first half, but the Scots responded with a 12-0 run to cut their deficit to two (29-27). SJU scored 11 of the game's next 15 points and senior post
Mitchell Plombon (St. Cloud, Minn./Cathedral) scored two buckets in the final 46 seconds before halftime as the visitors took a 44-36 lead into the break.
Plombon led all scorers with a career-high 27 points – a near-even split with 14 in the first half and 13 in the second – on 13 of 17 shooting (including three dunks) and fell one rebound shy of a double-double.
Juniors
Blake Berg (West Fargo, N.D./Sheyenne) and
Ryan Thissen (Rosemount, Minn./Eastview) were the other Johnnies in double figures with 10 points apiece. Thissen collected seven assists and four rebounds, while Berg totaled four boards and three assists off the bench. Ten Johnnies scored a field goal or more in the victory.
SJU finished with a pair of season highs – overall shooting percentage (.604, 32-for-53) and from three-point range (.600, 6-for-10) – and outrebounded the Scots by a 36-24 margin.
Eric Wentz led MAC, which shot 38.5 percent (20-for-52) overall and 29.4 percent (5-for-17) from behind the arc, with 17 points off the bench on 7 of 11 shooting. The home team made six of its 25 shot attempts (24 percent), just 1-for-8 from long range and 1-for-7 from the free-throw line, in the second half.
With the win, SJU improved to 88-30 against Macalester since the 1964-65 season, including a 41-18 record in St. Paul. The Johnnies have now won 33 of the last 35 meetings overall.
The Johnnies return to St. Paul for a 1 p.m. game at Hamline (5-2, 3-1 MIAC) on Saturday, Dec. 10, in Hutton Arena.
