Box Score

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Down two starters, Saint John's basketball needed a boost against Concordia-Moorhead on Wednesday night (Jan. 11) in Sexton Arena. Luckily for the Johnnies, senior post Mitchell Plombon (St. Cloud, Minn./Cathedral) and junior guard Blake Berg (West Fargo, N.D./Sheyenne) rose to the occasion and lifted SJU to a 70-63, overtime win.

Plombon (10.5 ppg.) and Berg (5.6 ppg.) combined for 49 of the team's 70 points as SJU (9-4, 6-2 MIAC) outscored the Cobbers (5-8, 3-5 MIAC) by an 11-4 margin in the overtime period. Plombon played a career-high 41 minutes and totaled 25 points, on 10-for-14 shooting, and 13 rebounds for his second double-double of the season and fifth of his career. Berg, meanwhile, scored a career-high 24 points, including 19 after halftime.

SJU was without its leading scorer (17.8 ppg.) and top playmaker (42 assists) - junior wing Ryan Thissen (Rosemount, Minn./Eastview) - due to illness, as well as senior post Carson Schoeller (8.5 ppg./7.3 rpg.; Prior Lake, Minn.) because of injury.



Tied at 59 at the end of regulation, Berg drained a three-pointer and answered CC's score on the other end with a layup to give SJU a 64-61 lead with 1:53 remaining. The Cobbers' Jackson Jangula made one of two free throws to make it a two-point game (64-62) with 40 seconds on the clock, but SJU drained all six attempts at the charity stripe to seal the victory.

The home team led by as much as nine (22-13) with 4:23 left before intermission, but the Cobbers cut the deficit to one with a 10-2 run before Berg hit a trey for a 27-23 lead at the break. The Johnnies led by as much as eight in the second half and by seven (46-39) with 7:18 left, but again CC responded with an 8-3 run to gain its first and only lead of the frame. SJU went 1-for-2 at the free-throw line on its last two trips, the last by sophomore guard Zach Longueville (Eagan, Minn./St. Croix Lutheran) with 13 ticks remaining, and CC's Rowan Nelson tied the game on a layup with five seconds left in regulation. 

SJU shot 39.7 percent (23-for-58) for the game, but just 23.8 percent (5-for-21) from three-point range. The Johnnies did not attempt a free throw in the first half and bounced back from a 13-for-19 performance (68.4 percent) in the second with a perfect 6-for-6 showing in overtime.

Sophomore guard Kooper Vaughn (St. Charles, Minn.) was the third Johnnie in double figures with 11 points and eight rebounds.

Matthew Johnson led Concordia with 21 points, including makes on all 11 of his shots from the charity stripe. The Cobbers shot 30.9 percent (17-for-55) for the game, but stayed in the game thanks to an 85.2-percent clip (23-for-27) at the free-throw line. The visitors went 6-for-26 (23.1 percent) from the floor in the first half and made only one of their seven shots in overtime. 

The Johnnies play host to Bethel (4-10, 2-7 MIAC) for a 1 p.m. matinee on Saturday, Jan. 14, in Collegeville.