The Johnnies travel to face Concordia for a 5:15 p.m. game tonight (Monday, Jan. 30) in Moorhead. – Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats | Live Video

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (12-6, 9-4 MIAC) avenged an early-season loss to St. Olaf with a nail-biting 69-66 victory on Saturday (Jan. 28) in Sexton Arena. The Johnnies led by as much as eight points in the game (8:39 mark of the first half) and by five (67-62) with 2:10 remaining, but needed a clutch performance from junior wing Ryan Thissen (Rosemount, Minn./Eastview) to clinch the win.

The Oles made back-to-back buckets to cut their deficit to one (67-66) with 57 seconds left and had the opportunity to tie or gain the lead, but Brendan Kauls missed the front end of a one-and-one opportunity at the free-throw line with 40 ticks on the clock. Thissen grabbed the defensive rebound and drained a step-back jumper in the paint with 13 seconds left. An off-balance three-point shot from Kobe Kirk hit the front rim as time expired.

Thissen finished with a season-high 27 points, on 11 of 16 shooting, for his fifth 20-point game of the season and 12th of his career. He also grabbed six rebounds in 36 minutes of play. 

Sophomore guard Zach Longueville (Eagan, Minn./St. Croix Lutheran) followed with a career-high 14 points, while adding four rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Senior post Carson Schoeller (Prior Lake, Minn.) totaled 12 points and seven boards, while senior post Mitchell Plombon (St. Cloud, Minn./Cathedral) collected 10 points and four rebounds. SJU's starters combined to shoot 56.5 percent (26-for-46) from the field.

Connor Martin led STO, which shot 57.7 percent (15-for-26) in the second half to finish at an even 50 percent (26-for-52) for the game, with 19 points. Michael Meriggioli nearly doubled his season average (9.5 ppg.) with 18 points and fell one rebound shy of a double-double.

HOME FLEX CONTINUES: With Saturday's win, SJU improved to 73-36 against St. Olaf since the 1964-65 season, including a 46-9 record in Collegeville. The Johnnies have now won each of the last eight meetings in Sexton Arena and 13 of the last 17 overall.

STAT COMPARISONS: SJU takes the court tonight leading the MIAC in scoring defense, shooting percentage and rebounding in conference play. 

Scoring Offense
5. CC, 71.0 ppg. (72.9 overall)
6. SJU, 70.8 ppg. (70.3 overall)

Scoring Defense
1. SJU, 60.3 ppg. (61.9 overall)
8. CC, 73.1 ppg. (74.2 overall)

Shooting Percentage
1. SJU, .522 (.498 overall)
7. CC, .456 (.457 overall)

Three-Point Percentage
5. SJU, .357 (.349 overall)
8. CC, .330 (.333 overall)

Free-Throw Percentage
2. CC, .784 (.790 overall)
4. SJU, .758 (.754 overall)

Rebounding
1. SJU, 34.6 rpg. (35.1 overall)
11. CC, 28.8 rpg. (29.8 overall)

A LOOK AT THE COBBERS: Concordia (6-13, 4-10 MIAC) suffered its fifth-straight loss by six points or less (eighth out of the last nine overall) at home to Bethel, 81-76, on Saturday (Jan. 28). The Cobbers rallied from an 18-point deficit midway through the second half and cut the margin to two points with 14 seconds remaining, but could not get any closer. CC outrebounded Bethel 31-23 and outscored the Royals 42-36 in points in the paint. CC also hauled down 11 offensive rebounds which turned into a 20-10 margin in second-chance points, but went only 4-for-22 (18.2 percent) from three-point range. Junior (6-foot-1) guard Matthew Johnson, the team's leading scorer (17.6 ppg.), led Concordia with 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds, while freshman (6-foot-6) forward Jacob Cook posted a double-double with 14 points and 11 boards off the bench.

19 DAYS AGO: Down two starters, SJU needed a boost against Concordia back on Jan. 11 in Sexton Arena. Luckily for the Johnnies, Plombon 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 outscored the Cobbers 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 Thissen due to illness, as well as senior post Carson Schoeller (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 Longueville 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.

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.

SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 83-35 against Concordia since the 1964-65 season, but just 31-28 in Moorhead during that span. The Johnnies have won each of the last 10 meetings overall.