Box Score
COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Saint John's basketball advanced to the MIAC semifinals with a 74-53 win over Hamline on Wednesday, Feb. 23, in Sexton Arena.
The Johnnies (21-4, 17-2 MIAC) host St. Olaf (16-10, 11-9 MIAC) at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 25, in Collegeville. The fifth-seeded Oles earned a 76-73 road win tonight, thanks to a three-pointer at the horn from Dominic Bledsoe, at fourth-seeded Gustavus Adolphus.
SJU overcame an uncharacteristic night from three-point range – 19 percent (4-for-21) – to finish at 51.9 percent (28-for-54) overall thanks to a 72.7-percent showing (24-for-33) inside the arc. The Johnnies entered the night fourth in NCAA Division III in three-point percentage (.393) and fifth in overall shooting percentage (.502).
Hamline (10-16, 7-12 MIAC) cut an 11-point deficit (16-5) to five (22-17) with 6:44 left in the first half, but the Johnnies went on a 10-0 run and eventually took a 38-25 lead into halftime.
SJU started the second half with an 8-2 scoring advantage, but the Pipers responded with a 21-8 run to cut the Johnnies' lead to six (54-48). Both teams exchanged three points to make it 57-51 with 6:19 remaining. The home team, however, scored 17 of the game's final 19 points to seal the victory.
Sophomore wing
Ryan Thissen (Rosemount, Minn./Eastview) led four Johnnies in double figures with a game-high 24 points, on 11-for-15 shooting, and grabbed seven rebounds.
Freshman guard
Kooper Vaughn (St. Charles, Minn.) chipped in 15 points, including a perfect 7-for-7 night from the free-throw line.
Junior post
Mitchell Plombon (St. Cloud, Minn./Cathedral) followed with his second double-double of the season and third of his career, 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Senior post
Zach Hanson (New Prague, Minn.) totaled 10 points, five assists and a career-high four blocked shots. The 10 points enabled him to pass Joe Deignan '95 into a tie with Matt Ohme '07 for 23rd in program history with 1,121 career points.
Cooper Berg led HU, which shot 37.3 percent (19-for-51) overall and 25 percent from behind the arc (3-for-12), with 16 points and 12 rebounds.
The Johnnies out-rebounded the Pipers 36-28 and out-scored them 42-18 in the paint.
