Saint John's basketball travels to Duluth to take on St. Scholastica at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 25. – Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats | Live Video

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (10-6, 7-4 MIAC) made half of its shots but committed 22 turnovers in a 75-66 loss at Augsburg last Saturday (Jan. 21) in Minneapolis. SJU entered the game fifth in the MIAC with an average of 10.5 turnovers per game in conference play. To make matters worse, Augsburg scored 20 points off the miscues and shot eight percentage points better than its season averages from the field (.409) and from the free-throw line (.668).

The Johnnies made eight of their first 12 shots and finished at 60 percent (12-for-20) from the field – to the Auggies' 40.7 percent (11-for-27) – in the first half but trailed 34-28 because of 12 turnovers. The Auggies entered the game shooting 30.4 percent from three-point range and went 4-for-6, as well as a perfect 8-for-8 from the charity stripe, in the first half. The 12 first-half turnovers and 22 overall were the most for SJU since Nov. 16, 2018, at Wisconsin-Whitewater (14 in the first half, 22 overall).

The visitors cut their deficit to two (45-43) with 14:12 to play, but AUG answered with an 8-0 run. SJU came to within six on three occasions, the last with 1:52 remaining, but the Auggies scored four-straight points to clinch the win.

Senior post Mitchell Plombon (St. Cloud, Minn./Cathedral) posted 18 points and eight rebounds, while sophomore guard Kooper Vaughn (St. Charles, Minn.) tallied 15 in the second half to match him with 18. Junior wing Ryan Thissen (Rosemount, Minn./Eastview) was the other Johnnie in double figures with 11.

Conner Knoepfle led Augsburg, which finished at 48.1 percent (25-for-52) from the floor and 75 percent (21-for-28) from the free-throw line, with 25 points. A 65.5-percent shooter from the line, Knoepfle made 12 of his 13 free-throw attempts and scored 17 points in the second half.

SJU outrebounded AUG 30-26 and both teams grabbed 10 offensive boards. The Auggies, however, posted a 14-5 advantage in second-chance points.

TWO-STRAIGHT LOSSES: The two-consecutive MIAC losses are the first for SJU during a normal regular-season schedule since 2018-19: Jan. 19 at Carleton (66-63) and Jan. 21 at St. Thomas (74-72 in overtime). The Johnnies dropped four-straight games to end the futile 2020-21 season stricken by the COVID-19 pandemic.

STAT COMPARISONS: SJU leads the MIAC, in conference play, in scoring defense and shooting percentage, while CSS is last in scoring offense and shooting percentage.

Scoring Offense
5. SJU, 71.3 ppg. (70.5 overall)
11. CSS, 60.5 ppg. (61.8 overall)

Scoring Defense
1. SJU, 61.9 ppg. (63.2 overall)
6. CSS, 70.8 ppg. (70.9 overall)

Shooting Percentage
1. SJU, .520 (.494 overall *No. 9 in Division III)
11. CSS, .390 (.395 overall)

Three-Point Percentage
5. SJU, .368 (.355 overall)
11. CSS, .305 (.344 overall)

Free-Throw Percentage
4. SJU, .746 (.747 overall)
9. CSS, .652 (.683 overall)

Rebounding
3. SJU, 33.5 rpg. (34.4 overall)
6. CSS, 32.5 rpg. (32.4 overall)

A LOOK AT THE SAINTS: St. Scholastica (4-12, 3-8 MIAC) snapped a seven-game losing skid by topping St. Olaf, 60-53, last Monday (Jan. 16) at home but suffered a 91-66 road loss on Saturday (Jan. 21) at Bethel. The Royals shot 62.5 percent (20-for-32) in the second half, including 6-for-10 from behind the arc, to finish at 55.7 percent (34-for-61) for the game (52.6 percent, 10-for-19, from three-point range). Senior (6-foot-4) guard Nick Carlson made six of his 17 shots to lead CSS with 20 points and seven rebounds. He leads the team in both scoring (14.7 ppg.) and rebounding (6.4 rpg.), while junior (6-foot-1) guard Noah Winesett is close behind with 14.4 points per contest.

EARLIER THIS SEASON: SJU closed the month of November with an 81-58 home win over St. Scholastica earlier this season on Nov. 30 in Sexton Arena. The Johnnies shot a then-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. 

Vaughn 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). He made six treys on two occasions last season as a freshman, including a 6-for-10 performance the last time the Johnnies hosted St. Scholastica on Jan. 22 (an 83-62 SJU win).

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

Plombon followed with 18 points on 8-for-9 shooting and six rebounds, while Thissen added 16 points.

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

SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 10-0 all-time against the Saints on the hardwood. Last season's 74-51 win on Nov. 20 (2021) was the first meeting in Duluth.